Captive Groups Research Articles

Anecdotic observations of homosexual behaviour among male capuchin monkeys (Sapajus sp.)

Abstract Many species were reported engaging in homosexual behaviour among mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. In primates, this behaviour seems to be much more frequent among apes and Old World monkeys than in New World monkeys, where only a few species, like squirrel monkeys, tamarins, marmosets, and capuchins, have been observed engaging in same-sex mounts. In capuchin monkeys, homosexual mounting has been rarely reported, with a few observations in Cebus capucinus and captive Sapajus groups. However, homosexual behaviour between males of the genus Sapajus has never before been reported outside captivity. Our observations are the first made with a semi free-ranging group living in the Tiete Ecological Park (São Paulo, SP, Brazil), during an experimental study. Four events of male-male mounts were observed, involving six individuals — two juveniles and four adults, which do not seem related to hierarchical or age group factors, but could be related to getting access to our experimental apparatus.

Gut microbiota composition and metabolomic profiles of wild and captive Chinese monals (Lophophorus lhuysii)

BackgroundThe Chinese monal (Lophophorus lhuysii) is an endangered bird species, with a wild population restricted to the mountains in southwest China, and only one known captive population in the world. We investigated the fecal microbiota and metabolome of wild and captive Chinese monals to explore differences and similarities in nutritional status and digestive characteristics. An integrated approach combining 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) based metabolomics were used to examine the fecal microbiota composition and the metabolomic profile of Chinese monals.ResultsThe results showed that the alpha diversity of gut microbes in the wild group were significantly higher than that in the captive group and the core bacterial taxa in the two groups showed remarkable differences at phylum, class, order, and family levels. Metabolomic profiling also revealed differences, mainly related to galactose, starch and sucrose metabolism, fatty acid, bile acid biosynthesis and bile secretion. Furthermore, strong correlations between metabolite types and bacterial genus were detected.ConclusionsThere were remarkable differences in the gut microbiota composition and metabolomic profile between wild and captive Chinese monals. This study has established a baseline for a normal gut microbiota and metabolomic profile for wild Chinese monals, thus allowing us to evaluate if differences seen in captive organisms have an impact on their overall health and reproduction.

Roosting Behaviour and Time Budgets of the CuraÇAoan Long-Nosed Bat, Leptonycteris curasoae (Phyllostomatidae, Glossophaginae) in Captivity

Bats spend half of their lifetime roosting, but their behaviour during this state has not been analysed in most species. The analysis of roosting behaviour is crucial to understand many aspects of bat ecology and social dynamics, but it can be hard to do in natural conditions, especially in cave-dwelling bats. In two species of long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris curasoae and L. yerbabuenae), reproductively active males display a unique smearing behaviour and develop an odoriferous dorsal patch during the reproductive season, presumably involved in female mate choice. As a first step to study the smearing behaviour under controlled conditions, in this study, we analysed the roosting behaviour of a captive group of 18 adult individuals (1:1 sex ratio) of L. curasoae through analysis of day-round (24 hrs) video recordings. We succeeded in producing an ethogram and in estimating the daily time budgets of the group. We also examined the effect of sex and condition of males (with dorsal patch, without dorsal patch) on behaviour. We identified 18 behaviours and classified them into five first-order categories (general maintenance, locomotion, vigilance, social and sexual) and two behavioural states (resting and self-grooming). Behaviours related to muscle and fur maintenance were the most frequent (wing stretching and self-grooming, respectively). Social behaviours (allogrooming and pushing) were relatively infrequent. The latter result suggests loose or cryptic inter-individual liaisons, probably associated with the natural dynamics of colony composition. The main difference between males and females was the expression of hugs (male to female), suggesting that this could be a sexual behaviour (pre-copulatory or pair-bonding). The behaviour of males was independent of the presence of a dorsal patch. We discuss the need for additional research to find the correlates of dorsal patch activity in order to control these variables in future studies aimed to investigate the smearing behaviour in captivity.

EVALUATION OF TWO DOSES OF BUTORPHANOL-MEDETOMIDINE-MIDAZOLAM FOR THE IMMOBILIZATION OF WILD VERSUS CAPTIVE BLACK-FOOTED CATS (FELIS NIGRIPES).

The efficacy, safety, physiologic effects, and reversibility of butorphanol-medetomidine-midazolam (BMM) immobilization were evaluated in black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) and compared between captive and wild animals. Nine captive and 14 wild black-footed cats were hand injected into an accessible hind limb muscle group with the BMM combination. The captive cats (captive group) received a lower dose of the combination (butorphanol, 0.25 ± 0.03 mg/kg; medetomidine, 0.06 ± 0.01 mg/kg; midazolam, 0.13 ± 0.02 mg/kg), whereas the wild cats received a higher dose (butorphanol, 0.53 ± 0.11 mg/kg, medetomidine, 0.13 ± 0.03 mg/kg, midazolam, 0.27 ± 0.05 mg/kg). Two capture methods were required to restrain the wild cats; previously collared cats were tracked and excavated out of their burrows during daylight hours (excavated group), whereas uncollared cats were randomly located using spotlights and pursued by a vehicle at night (pursued group). Inductions were rapid and no spontaneous arousals occurred. Mean arterial blood pressure in all cats was within normal limits for domestic cats. Initial rectal temperatures varied greatly among the groups, but decreased in all groups as the immobilization progressed. In the pursued animals, heart rates and respiratory rates were initially elevated. All cats had moderate hypoxemia, hypocapnia, and metabolic acidosis. Intramuscular administration of naltrexone, atipamezole, and flumazenil resulted in rapid, uncomplicated recoveries. BMM is thus a safe, effective immobilizing drug combination for both captive and wild black-footed cats, but higher doses are required in wild animals. The capture methods exerted a greater influence on the physiology of the immobilized animals than did the doses of the drugs used. Although this drug combination can be used safely to immobilize black-footed cats, supplemental oxygen should always be available for use, especially in pursued animals due to hypoxia.

TOMOGRAPHIC ATTENUATION OF THE HEPATIC PARENCHYMA OF ADULT FREE-RANGING AND CAPTIVE BOAS ( BOA CONSTRICTOR)

Improperly managed care conditions for reptiles can lead to clinical problems, including those of nutritional origin. A diagnostic tool to aid in the assessment of hepatic lipidosis is warranted. Evaluation of attenuation using quantitative computed tomography has a variety of indications in animals and permits the standardization of hepatic computed tomography (CT) reference values, aiding in the diagnosis of lipidosis. The objective of this paper was to estimate hepatic quantitative CT reference values for boas because of the lack of data in the literature for this species. CT scans were performed in 13 boas (Boa constrictor constrictor): 5 under managed care and 8 that were free ranging. Results show that the mean hepatic attenuation in the captive boa group was well below the mean for the free-ranging animals (P < 0.05) with respective values of 48.78 ± 6.57 and 61.76 ± 7.11 HU. These results suggest an influence of managed care on liver attenuation. These results were observed despite the lack of clinical or laboratory changes. This imaging technique is useful to detect early hepatic changes; however, clinical relevance is unknown at this point. Further studies and standardization of species-specific values for hepatic quantitative CT would contribute to better understanding of the physiologic, physiopathologic, environmental, and nutritional processes.

Contextual impacts on individual and synchronous breathing rate variations in three captive odontocete groups.

Breathing rates are often collected both in the wild and in captivity to inform on cetaceans' internal state. However, few studies have investigated the effect of various factors on this breathing rate. We investigated the variations of individual and synchronous breathing rates depending on individual features (species, sex, age), displayed behavior, social parameters (social grouping), and environmental parameters (diurnal variation, presence of enrichment, unusual events, and presence of visitors in three groups of captive odontocetes (Yangtze finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorentalis asiaeorientalis, East-Asian finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorentalissunameri, bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus). Both individual and synchronous breathing rates were the highest when animals engaged in energetic or social behaviors. Individual breathing rate decreased but synchronous breathing rate increased with the presence of enrichment. Both rates increased during unusual events (e.g., pool cleaning, presence of a diver in the pool, noise, transport) and when public was present for Yangtze finless porpoises. Finally, synchronous breathing rate increased for Yangtze finless porpoises when experiencing social separation. We suggest that individual and synchronous breathing rates are useful parameters to measure, both in wild and captive animals, to obtain information on their arousal/stress state. However, these rates should be interpreted with caution and should be used together with other parameters to allow more accurate inferences.

Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus).

Social learning, where information is acquired from others, is taxonomically widespread. There is growing evidence that animals selectively employ ‘social learning strategies', which determine e.g. when to copy others instead of learning asocially and whom to copy. Furthermore, once animals have acquired new information, e.g. regarding profitable resources, it is beneficial for them to commit it to long-term memory (LTM), especially if it allows access to profitable resources in the future. Research into social learning strategies and LTM has covered a wide range of taxa. However, otters (subfamily Lutrinae), popular in zoos due to their social nature and playfulness, remained neglected until a recent study provided evidence of social learning in captive smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), but not in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). We investigated Asian short-clawed otters' learning strategies and LTM performance in a foraging context. We presented novel extractive foraging tasks twice to captive family groups and used network-based diffusion analysis to provide evidence of a capacity for social learning and LTM in this species. A major cause of wild Asian short-clawed otter declines is prey scarcity. Furthering our understanding of how they learn about and remember novel food sources could inform key conservation strategies.

Repeatable social network node-based metrics across populations and contexts in a passerine.

Behavioural traits are considered animal personality traits when individuals differ consistently in their expression across time and across context. Here, we test this idea on three metrics derived from social interaction networks (strength, betweenness and closeness). Using experimental data from house sparrows in captive populations, and observational data from house sparrows in a wild population, we show that all three metrics consistently exhibit repeatability across both study populations and two methods of recording interactions. The highest repeatability values were estimated in male-only captive groups, whereas repeatabilities estimated in single-sex networks subsetted from mixed-sex groups showed no sex specificity. We also show that changes in social group composition led to a decrease in repeatability for up to six months. This work provides substantial and generalizable support for the notion that social network node-based metrics can be considered animal personalities. Our work suggests that social network traits may be heritable and thus could be selected for.

First evidence of stone handling in geladas: From simple to more complex forms of object play

Stone Handling (SH) is a solitary object play behaviour that can vary from simple exploratory actions to more complex manipulations. So far, among primates, this behaviour has been exclusively reported in macaques. We collected data on 62 geladas (Theropithecus gelada) housed at the NaturZoo (Rheine, Germany). We found that about 70% of subjects belonging to all age- and sex-classes engaged in SH. Due to their exceptional manipulative skills (the highest opposability index among nonhuman primates) and propensity to play, geladas are a good model species to test hypotheses on the function of this form of object play. While the frequency of SH tended to decrease with age of the player, the duration of each session and its complexity tended to increase in juveniles/subadults and adults compared to infants. This age-related variation in terms of frequency, duration and complexity suggests that, in agreement with the motor training hypothesis, SH could have a role in the neural–motor development of immature subjects and a basic function in stimulating neurogenesis and maintaining the psychological well-being of adults. In all age classes, the frequency of SH did not vary across pre-feeding, feeding and non-feeding conditions. Hence, our data do not support the misdirected foraging hypothesis, which predicts that animals engage in SH to anticipate food provisioning. In conclusion, our study reveals, for the first time, the presence of SH outside the genus Macaca and attempts to delineate possible functions of the behaviour in geladas. Since the hypotheses tested cannot be mutually exclusive, long-term studies of SH across individuals’ lifetimes in both captive and wild groups of geladas are needed to clarify the proximate and ultimate functions of the behaviour in this species of Papionini. Finally, long-term studies could also provide some important indications about the cultural nature and social transmission of SH in a taxonomic group outside the Macaca genus.

Thermogenic responses in Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) to seasonal acclimatization and temperature-photoperiod acclimation

BackgroundSmall birds in temperate habitats must either migrate, or adjust aspects of their morphology, physiology and behavior to cope with seasonal change in temperature and photoperiod. It is, however, difficult to accurately measure how seasonal changes in temperature and photoperiod affect physiological processes such as basal metabolic rate (BMR) and metabolic activity. To address this problem, we collected data in each month of the year on body mass (Mb) and BMR, and conducted a series of experiments to determine the effect of temperature and photoperiod on Mb, BMR and physiological markers of metabolic activity, in the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus).MethodsIn one experiment, we measured monthly change in Mb and BMR in a captive group of birds over a year. In another experiment, we examined the effects of acclimating birds to two different temperatures, 10 and 30 °C, and a long and a short photoperiod (16 h light:8 h dark and 8 h light:16 h dark, respectively) for 4 weeks.ResultsWe found that these treatments induced sparrows to adjust their Mb and metabolic rate processes. Acclimation to 30 °C for 4 weeks significantly decreased sparrows’ Mb, BMR, and energy intake, including both gross energy intake and digestible energy intake, compared to birds acclimated to 10 °C. The dry mass of the liver, kidneys and digestive tract of birds acclimated to 30 °C also significantly decreased, although their heart and skeletal muscle mass did not change significantly relative to those acclimated to 10 °C. Birds acclimated to 30 °C also had lower mitochondrial state-4 respiration (S4R) and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity in their liver and skeletal muscle, compared to those acclimated to 10 °C. Birds acclimated to the long photoperiod also had lower mitochondrial S4R and COX activity in their liver, compared to those acclimated to the short photoperiod.ConclusionsThese results illustrate the changes in morphology, physiology, and enzyme activity induced by seasonal change in temperature and photoperiod in a small temperate passerine. Both temperature and photoperiod probably have a strong effect on seasonal variation in metabolic heat production in small birds in temperate regions. The effect of temperature is, however, stronger than that of photoperiod.

Behavioural variability among captive African elephants in the use of the trunk while feeding.

The Proboscideans, an order of mammals including elephants, are the largest of the Earth lands animals. One probable consequence of the rapid increase of their body size is the development of the trunk, a multitask highly sensitive organ used in a large repertoire of behaviours. The absence of bones in the trunk allows a substantial degree of freedom for movement in all directions, and this ability could underlie individual-level strategies. We hypothesised a stronger behavioural variability in simple tasks, and a correlation between the employed behaviours and the shape and size of the food. The observations of a captive group of African elephants allowed us to create a complete catalogue of trunk movements in feeding activities. We noted manipulative strategies and impact of food item properties on the performed behaviours. The results show that a given item is manipulated with a small panel of behaviours, and some behaviours are specific to a single shape of items. The study of the five main feeding behaviours emphasises a significant variability between the elephants. Each individual differed from every other individual in the proportion of at least one behaviour, and every behaviour was performed in different proportions by the elephants. Our findings suggest that during their lives elephants develop individual strategies adapted to the manipulated items, which increases their feeding efficiency.

Pet or pest? Stable isotope methods for determining the provenance of an invasive alien species

The illegal pet trade facilitates the global dispersal of invasive alien species (IAS), providing opportunities for new pests to establish in novel recipient environments. Despite the increasing threat of IAS to the environment and economy, biosecurity efforts often lack suitable, scientifically-based methods to make effective management decisions, such as identifying an established IAS population from a single incursion event. We present a proof-of-concept for a new application of a stable isotope technique to identify wild and captive histories of an invasive pet species. Twelve red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) from historic Australian incursions with putative wild, captive and unknown origins were analysed to: (1) present best-practice methods for stable isotope sampling of T. s. elegans incursions; (2) effectively discriminate between wild and captive groups using stable isotope ratios; and (3) present a framework to expand the methodology for use on other IAS species. A sampling method was developed to obtain carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios from the keratin layer of the carapace (shells), which are predominantly influenced by dietary material and trophic level respectively. Both δ13C and δ15N exhibited the potential to distinguish between the wild and captive origins of the samples. Power simulations demonstrated that isotope ratios were consistent across the carapace and a minimum of eight individuals were required to effectively discriminate wild and captive groups, reducing overall sampling costs. Statistical classification effectively separated captive and wild groups by δ15N (captive: δ15N‰ ≥ 9.7‰, minimum of 96% accuracy). This study outlines a practical and accessible method for detecting IAS incursions, to potentially provide biosecurity staff and decision-makers with the tools to quickly identify and manage future IAS incursions.

How consistently do personality attributes relate to an individual’s position within a social network: a comparison across groups of captive meerkats

The social network structure of a group arises from the patterns of association of its constituent members, which in turn originates from behaviors and preferences of those individuals. Consequently, an individual’s position in their social environment is commonly related to their own attributes. However, most studies that report such relationships are limited to single or very small numbers of groups. I consider one set of attributes suggested to influence network structure, namely personality type, and observed 15 groups of captive meerkats Suricata suricatta. Thus, I could assess whether the relationship between individual attributes and patterns of association and network position persisted across groups. Principal component analysis of behavior, within the 15 groups, revealed two personality dimensions: friendliness and aggressiveness. For a subset of five groups, only friendliness was consistent over 1 year. I found little evidence that they were universally good predictors of social network structure or individual positions within networks. Individuals with high friendliness scores were more central in networks of foraging competitions. There was no evidence that meerkats preferentially associated with or avoid others based on each of their personality scores. Alternatively, and contrary to much-published work, it may not be possible to generalize relationships between individual attributes and network position or overall network structure. This may be because social environments emerge from a complex interplay between individual attributes and social interactions, and thus, the role of these elements along with the physical environment in which they live in shaping network structures and personality is challenging to disentangle. Animal personalities and animal social network structures are increasingly recognized as significant components in animal behavior and welfare. Here, I explore personality in the context of social networks in different captive groups of meerkats. These types of studies are uncommon probably because collecting detailed interaction data from multiple known individuals in multiple groups is time-consuming and because groups are often highly variable in composition and ecological context. When I did consider the social networks and individual attributes of members of 15 groups, I found little evidence that an individual’s personality scores consistently explained either their network position or patterns of association across all groups. Individuals in the wild, with different personality profiles, may adjust their network assortment to balance their costs and benefits and shift their environmental pressures. In a captive environment, such characteristics can vary and therefore social associations may be expressed differently from their wild counterparts.

Breaking conversational rules matters to captive gorillas: A playback experiment

Across human cultures, conversations are regulated by temporal and social rules. The universality of conversational rules suggests possible biological bases and encourages comparisons with the communicative interactions of nonhuman animals. Unexpectedly, few studies have focused on other great apes despite evidence of proto-conversational rules in monkeys, thus preventing researchers from drawing conclusions on potential evolutionary origins of this behaviour. A previous study showed however that western lowland gorillas engage in soft call interactions that seem temporally- and socially-ruled. Indeed, interactions occurred mainly between individuals close in age who followed a preset response delay, thus preventing call overlap. Here, we experimentally investigated the presence of these rules in a captive gorilla group, using a violation-of-expectation paradigm. Head orientation responses suggest that the respect of response delay matters to subjects, but the importance of the interlocutors’ age proximity appeared less clear. The intensity of the response varied with subjects’ age in a context-dependent way, supporting a possible role of learning. Our findings support the growing number of studies highlighting the importance of vocal turn-taking in animals and a possible sociogenesis of this ability. The capacity to “converse” might have been a key step in the co-evolution of communication and complex sociality.

The multidimensionality of female mandrill sociality-A dynamic multiplex network approach.

The structure and dynamics of primate social groups are shaped by the social relationships of its members. These relationships are based on different types of interactions and vary in relation to the identity of the interactants and over time. Social network analysis tools represent a powerful and comprehensive method to characterise social interactions and recent methodological advances now allow the study of the multidimensionality of sociality via multilayer networks that incorporate multiple types of interactions. Here, we use a multidimensional network approach to investigate the multidimensionality of sociality of females in a captive group of mandrills. We constructed two multiplex networks based on agonistic, proximity and grooming interactions of 6–7 mature females to analyse the multidimensionality of relationships within two independent observation periods; and three multiplex networks (one for each interaction type) to examine how relationships changed between periods. Within each period, different individuals were the most central in each layer and at the multiplex level, and different layers (i.e., interaction types) contributed non-redundant information to the multilayer structure. Across periods, relationships based on the same interaction type also contained non-redundant information. These results indicate that female mandrills engage in multidimensional and dynamic relationships, suggesting that in order to represent the full complexity of relationships, networks need to be constructed from more than a single type of interaction and across time. Our results provide evidence for the potential value of the multilayer network approach to characterise the multidimensionality of primate sociality.

Effect of rearing style on the development of social behaviour in young ravens (Corvus corax).

Early social experiences can affect the development and expression of individual social behaviour throughout life. In particular, early‐life social deprivations, notably of parental care, can later have deleterious consequences. We can, therefore, expect rearing procedures such as hand‐raising—widely used in ethology and socio‐cognitive science—to alter the development of individual social behaviour. We investigated how the rearing style later affected (a) variation in relationship strength among peers and (b) individuals’ patterns of social interactions, in three captive groups of juvenile non‐breeders consisting of either parent‐raised or hand‐raised birds, or a mix of both rearing styles. In the three groups, irrespectively of rearing style: strongest relationships (i.e., higher rates of association and affiliations) primarily emerged among siblings and familiar partners (i.e., non‐relatives encountered in early life), and mixed‐sex and male–male partners established relationships of similar strength, indicating that the rearing style does not severely affect the quality and structure of relationships in young ravens. However, compared to parent‐raised ravens, hand‐raised ravens showed higher connectedness, i.e., number of partners with whom they mainly associated and affiliated, but formed on average relationships of lower strength, indicating that social experience in early life is not without consequences on the development of ravens’ patterns of social interaction. The deprivation of parental care associated with the presence of same‐age peers during hand‐raising seemed to maximize ravens’ propensity to interact with others, indicating that besides parents, interactions with same‐age peers matter. Opportunities to interact with, and socially learn from peers, might thus be the key to the acquisition of early social competences in ravens.

Effect of food limitation and reproductive activity on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in banded mongooses

BackgroundGlucocorticoids mediate responses to perceived stressors, thereby restoring homeostasis. However, prolonged glucocorticoid elevation may cause homeostatic overload. Using extensive field investigations of banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) groups in northern Botswana, we assessed the influence of reproduction, predation risk, and food limitation on apparent homeostatic overload (n=13 groups, 1542 samples from 268 animals). We experimentally manipulated reproduction and regulated food supply in captive mongooses, and compared their glucocorticoid responses to those obtained from free-living groups.ResultsAt the population level, variation in glucocorticoid levels in free-living mongooses was explained by food limitation: fecal organic matter, recent rainfall, and access to concentrated anthropogenic food resources. Soil macrofauna density and reproductive events explained less and predation risk very little variation in glucocorticoid levels. Reproduction and its associated challenges alone (under regulated feeding conditions) increased glucocorticoid levels 19-fold in a captive group. Among free-living groups, glucocorticoid elevation was seasonal (occurring in late dry season or early wet season when natural food resources were less available), but the timing of peak glucocorticoid production was moderated by access to anthropogenic resources (groups with fewer anthropogenic food sources had peaks earlier in dry seasons). Peak months represented 12- and 16-fold increases in glucocorticoids relative to nadir months with some animals exhibiting 100-fold increases. Relative to the captive group nadir, some free-living groups exhibited 60-fold increases in peak glucocorticoid levels with some animals exhibiting up to 800-fold increases. Most of these animals exhibited 1- to 10-fold increases relative to the captive animal peak.ConclusionsBanded mongooses exhibit seasonal chronic glucocorticoid elevation, associated primarily with food limitation and secondarily with reproduction. Magnitude and duration of this elevation suggests that this may be maladaptive for some animals, with possible fitness consequences. In late dry season, this population may face a convergence of stressors (food limitation, agonistic encounters at concentrated food resources, evictions, estrus, mate competition, parturition, and predation pressure on pups), which may induce homeostatic overload.

Sulawesi Crested Macaque (Macaca nigra) Grooming Networks Are Robust to Perturbation While Individual Associations Are More Labile

Social and environmental disturbance occurs naturally, and species in bonded social groups should be resilient to it. Empirical evidence of social responses to disturbance in primates, however, remains limited. We constructed social networks using group-level scan samples (N = 299) to test the robustness of grooming networks in a captive group of 20 Sulawesi crested macaques (Macaca nigra) to two management interventions involving environmental and social disturbance. During the first, the institution removed six castrated males and one female, contracepted six of the nine remaining females, and moved the group to a new enclosure. The second involved the introduction of a novel, reproductive male five weeks later. Networks remained stable following the first intervention. However, after introduction of the male, the number of grooming partners and the frequency of grooming with non-maternal kin increased in female-only networks. We observed less marked increases in the grooming frequency and number of grooming partners in whole group networks. Ten weeks later, network structure was more similar to that of pre-intervention networks than post-intervention networks. Our results suggest that reproductive males play a more important role in structuring Sulawesi crested macaque social networks than castrated males, as networks expanded and relationships between non-maternal kin occurred more frequently after introduction of the reproductive male. However, network responses to interventions appeared to be temporary as networks following a period of acclimation more closely resembled pre-intervention networks than post-intervention networks. Our study demonstrates the utility of social network analysis for understanding the impact of disturbance on stable social groups.

Do Contraceptive Rods Affect the Behaviour of African Lions (Panthera leo) in Captivity?

Surplus animals in zoos and wildlife parks are handled differently across Europe. Some zoos use the “Breed and Cull”-method where animals are allowed to reproduce, and surplus animals culled when the mature. Other zoos sterilize the animals or inject them with contraceptive rods to prevent reproduction. Naturally secreted hormones affect both behaviour and morphology, but the effect of the injected hormones has not been studied in lions. The aim of this observational study was to compare the behaviour in captive groups of female lions, that had either been injected with contraceptive rods or not. The study was made in eight different zoos in Denmark, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. We found no significant differences in the behaviour of the two groups (with and without rods), indicating that there was no effect of contraceptive rods. However, the small sample size, and unbalanced factors such as pride composition, age and weather could have blurred our results. In order to address the challenge of surplus animals, we suggest, future studies with a more optimal experimental design and larger sample sizes and the inclusion of physiological measurement in addition to quantitative behavioural recordings.

Conservation and Management ofTrachemys venusta venustain Southern Mexico: A Genetic Approach

The Meso-American slider turtle ( Trachemys venusta) is a freshwater turtle that is widely distributed from Mexico to Colombia. Due to the overexploitation of populations of this species in Mexico, it has been placed within the “subject to special protection” category formulated by the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059-ECOL-2010. In the state of Tabasco, Mexico, Management Units for the Conservation of Wildlife (UMA) were created to reduce the impact of overexploitation of freshwater turtles bred in captivity. However, no genetic management plan was considered. The present study was carried out in an UMA in the state of Tabasco. We obtained the level of genetic diversity of the founder individuals of the UMA in order to develop a management plan which will optimize reproduction in the UMA. Genetic diversity was compared between captive (n = 86) and wild (n = 45) individuals using 14 microsatellite molecular markers. The genetic diversity parameter ​​determined in this study was slightly higher for captive than for wild population ( He = 0.606 and He = 0.594 respectively), reflecting the mix of genetic sources in captive group (founding individuals from different localities) and demonstrating that the captive population contains a diverse subset of alleles from representative populations. The analysis of genetic structure revealed a relationship between captive and wild populations, indicating the influence of the two principal river basins in this region on the populations structure of freshwater turtles. Finally, according to the results obtained from the relationship analysis, we recommend the use of 19 females and 13 males to constitute the appropriate breeding group, generating a potential of 247 dyads with no relationship. However, in order to improve breeding program and the genetic diversity of captive population, we suggest to introduce wild-caught individuals. These results are the first regarding genetic management in a Mexican UMA and demonstrate the importance of molecular approaches in the management and conservation of captive species.