High rates of aggression do not predict rates of trauma in captive groups of macaques

Beisner, Brianne A.; Wooddell, Lauren J.; Hannibal, Darcy L.; Nathman, Amy; McCowan, Brenda

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2019.01.003

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Japanese macaques are typically characterized as very low tolerance with high rates of aggressive interactions, unlike gorillas and chimpanzees; therefore, these comparative patterns highlight the potential for a dissociation between aggressive behavior and wounding. A similar dissociation has recently been reported by Beisner et al (2019) who found that rhesus macaque troops showed a lack of positive correlation between aggression and trauma due in part to the policing and intervention strategies of high‐ranking males in the troops. Flack, de Waal, and Krakauer (2005) have also reported that high‐ranking adult male pigtailed macaques' intervention in aggressive bouts reduces the intensity of conflict, and presumably the type of aggression that would lead to visible wounds.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Ruehlmann et al (1988) found that adult males incurred the highest frequencies of wounds in rhesus, pigtail, and stumptail macaques. A recent study of rhesus macaques also showed that females were wounded less than would be expected by chance whereas males were wounded more than expected by chance (Beisner, Wooddell, Hannibal, Nathman, & McCowan, 2019), and an earlier study of the same species reported more serious wounding requiring veterinary intervention for male compared to female rhesus macaques in a captive setting (Westergaard, Izard, Drake, Suomi, & Higley, 1999). Whitten and Smith (1984) also reported that male stumptail macaques were wounded more frequently than females.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Sex and season predict wounds in zoo‐housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi‐institutional study

et al. 2020

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Japanese macaque societies are characterized by frequent intragroup conflict both in free-ranging and zoo-housed conditions. In zoos, understanding the factors that contribute to wounding is of interest because this knowledge can aid in proactive husbandry and management planning that can minimize the negative impacts wounding can have on individual welfare. This study sought to determine whether the variables sex, season and age predicted wounding rates. Data were collected for 24 months on 119 Japanese macaques living in 10 zoos, and we analyzed the contribution of variables using generalized linear mixed models. A total of 1,007 wounds were reported, and the best model included the interaction between sex and season. Follow-up analyses revealed that females incurred more wounds than males, and this sex difference was more pronounced during the breeding compared to the nonbreeding season. On average, individuals received 4.67 (±SEM: 0.55) wounds per year and 77.31% of the population incurred at least one wound in the study period.The majority of wounds were superficial and did not require veterinary intervention.Wound locations were not randomly distributed across body regions and were most often reported on the face. Finally, macaques living in larger social groups experienced more wounds, on average. This study represents the first quantification of wounding in this species and may provide insight to help inform husbandry and management strategies in zoos. K E Y W O R D Saggression, husbandry, Japanese macaque, management, welfare, wounding

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Sex and season predict wounds in zoo‐housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi‐institutional study

et al. 2020

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“…Perhaps during the produce enrichment condition, aggressors were more likely to moderate the intensity of their bites. The existing literature suggests that the social dynamics underlying trauma appear to be more complex than a simple positive correlation with biting aggression and trauma (Beisner et al, ), and a number of studies point to the possibility that aggressors moderate their bites to influence the likelihood of causing injury (Beisner et al, ; Owens ; Ruehlmann et al, ). For instance, in a recent study following group formation and instability in rhesus macaques, males inflicted more severe trauma on other males than they did females (Linden, McCowan, Capitanio, & Isbell, ), suggesting that males inhibited their bites toward females.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While food has been shown to either elicit or reduce social aggression depending on the study, this likely depends on the size, distribution, and time needed to process and extract food items (Boccia, Laudenslager, & Reite, ; Byrne & Suomi, ; Doane et al, ; Mathy & Isbell, ). Furthermore, although foraging enrichment may alter aggression frequencies, the impact on socially inflicted traumas is unclear because the rates of aggression do not necessarily predict rates of trauma (Beisner, Wooddell, Hannibal, Nathman, & McCowan, ; Pomerantz & Baker, ; Ruehlmann, Bernstein, Gordon, & Balcaen, ). Rather, trauma can be mediated by other internal (e.g., policing, sex ratio: Beisner, Jackson, Cameron, & McCowan, ; matrilineal fragmentation: Beisner, Jackson, Cameron, & McCowan, ) and external (e.g., season: Stavisky, Ramsey, Meeker, Stovall, & Crane, ) factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased produce enrichment reduces trauma in socially‐housed captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Wooddell

Beisner

Hannibal

et al. 2019

American J Primatol

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Due to primate adaptations for sociality, captive rhesus macaques have optimal welfare and utility as a biomedical model when they can be maintained in outdoor social groups. As a despotic species; however, aggression can result in costly injuries and may result in temporary or permanent removal of specific individuals from social housing. Enrichment items, such as toys, climbing structures, and foraging material, are employed to keep captive animals occupied. We hypothesized that produce enrichment that requires more processing to extract may reduce socially-derived injuries by keeping animals occupied. We tested the effects of additional weekly produce (corn-in-husk, whole melon, or whole squash) on trauma incidence in an outdoor social group of rhesus macaques across two distinct seasons (mating and birthing seasons) at the California National Primate Research Center. Aggression and status behavioral data, food resource use and proximity, and trauma incidence were collected over two 16-week periods, with eight control and treatment conditions alternating biweekly. Mixed-effects regression modeling was used to determine the best predictors of trauma risk and severe aggression at the group level and at an individual level. We found that food resource use was an important predictor of trauma risk at both group and individual levels; greater use of food resources reduced trauma risk. Produce enrichment did not; however, reduce severe aggression. We suggest that other captive social groups of rhesus macaques with high levels of trauma may benefit from supplemental produce enrichment that increases animal engagement with food resources.

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“…Several factors contribute to the social stability of these groups, including a clear dominance hierarchy, 5,9,18 a cohesive kinship structure within families, 5,13 and the presence of adult males or other high-ranking animals that effectively 'police' social conflicts. 6,7,10,21 Due to the despotic dominance style of rhesus macaques, 16,41 a low level of social aggression is expected; 8,9 however, increased rates of uncontrolled aggression among members of the same or different matrilineal families is indicative of social instability and can result in significant trauma and even mortality. 18 Increased rates of aggression and trauma are a particular concern for rhesus macaque breeding programs due to the established link between social overthrows (maximal group instability) and poor reproductive output.…”

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confidence: 99%

Utility of Automated Feeding Data to Detect Social Instability in a Captive Breeding Colony of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): A Case Study of Intrafamily Aggression

Johnston¹,

Meeker²,

Ramsey³

et al. 2020

j am assoc lab anim sci

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Some captive breeding colonies of rhesus macaques live in large outdoor multimale, multifemale social groups. These groups are composed of several matrilineal families, governed by a clear female dominance hierarchy. Aggression within the same or between different matrilineal families due to social instability can result in trauma and mortality. Therefore, a primary management goal is to detect emerging social unrest before the onset of significant fighting and wounding. Accordingly, groups are monitored routinely for changes in dominance and alliance relations as well as for increases in trauma frequency and severity. Decreased food intake is a normal physiologic response to acute stress; therefore, inappetence in key animals or groups of monkeys might be used as an indicator of increased social stress and emerging instability. An incident of intrafamily aggression occurred recently in a breeding group at our facility and resulted in considerable fighting. Because this compound was equipped with an automated feeding system that tracks the caloric intake of individual animals, we retrospectively analyzed feeding data to determine whether significant reduction in caloric consumption occurred prior to the onset of aggression, compared with baseline values. Neither the entire group nor individual families showed any significant differences in total caloric intake between baseline and previous 24 h values; however, the affected family exhibited a 20% reduction in total caloric during the 24 h prior to the aggression. Most notably, the deposed subfamily showed a marked 58% reduction in caloric intake during the prior 24 h, whereas remaining subfamilies showed no significant changes in intake. High-ranking animals of the group, including the α female, β female, and α male, similarly exhibited marked decreases in caloric intake during that period. These findings indicate that automated feeders can assist management staff with monitoring social stability in breeding colonies of rhesus macaque.

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High rates of aggression do not predict rates of trauma in captive groups of macaques

Cited by 11 publications

References 43 publications

Sex and season predict wounds in zoo‐housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi‐institutional study

Sex and season predict wounds in zoo‐housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi‐institutional study

Increased produce enrichment reduces trauma in socially‐housed captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Utility of Automated Feeding Data to Detect Social Instability in a Captive Breeding Colony of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): A Case Study of Intrafamily Aggression

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