Physiological and behavioral effects of social introduction on adult male rhesus macaques

Doyle, Lara A.; Baker, Kate; Cox, Lauren Dawn

doi:10.1002/ajp.20526

Cited by 56 publications

(67 citation statements)

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“…It is interesting to note that levels of abnormal behavior decreased dramatically after pairing into full or intermittent contact among females but not among males. A previous study of adult male rhesus macaques found that significant reductions in abnormal behavior occurred soon after social introduction, but were no longer significant 5–9 months after introduction [Doyle et al, 2008]. Improvements in abnormal behavior may be relatively ephemeral in males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well established that socially housed rhesus macaques demonstrate well-being that is superior to that of their singly housed counterparts; pair-housed rhesus macaques display more affiliative interactions, physical activity, play, and exploration than singly housed individuals [Baker et al, 2012a; Eaton et al, 1994; Schapiro et al, 1996] and less abnormal, stereotyped, and self-injurious behavior [Baker et al, 2012a; Lutz et al, 2003; Novak, 2003; Schapiro et al, 1996]. Improved welfare as a result of social housing has been demonstrated in both female–female and male–male adult pairs [Baker et al, 2012a; Doyle et al, 2008; Eaton et al, 1994]. Pair and group housing may buffer stress for rhesus macaques as they are exposed to research events [Gilbert & Baker, 2011], removed from social groups [Gust et al, 1994], or transported to different facilities [Fernström et al, 2008].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparing options for pair housing rhesus macaques using behavioral welfare measures

Baker

Bloomsmith

Oettinger³

et al. 2013

American J Primatol

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In a biomedical research environment, research or management procedures may render continuous full contact pairing of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) unfeasible. This study aimed to determine whether separation on a frequent basis or housing in adjacent cages with tactile contact interferes with the behavioral benefits of continuous full contact. Behavioral data (1260 hours) were collected from 32 adult females and 16 adult males housed at two National Primate Research Centers. Subjects were studied in four housing conditions: single housing, full contact pair housing, intermittent contact pair housing, and protected contact housing. After introduction, each pair was housed in each of the three social housing conditions in varying order. Among females, but not males, introducing animals into full and intermittent contact reduced levels of abnormal behavior. There was a trend toward this reduction in protected contact. In both females and males, full and intermittent contact was associated with lower levels of anxiety-related behavior, but protected contact was not. Females spent more time inactive in protected contact than either full or intermittent contact, and males showed a trend toward less inactivity following introduction into full contact. Both sexes showed less affiliation in protected contact compared to the other forms of social housing. Agonistic behavior among females was not affected by housing condition; among males, levels were equivalent in full and intermittent contact but were higher in intermittent than protected contact. Frequent separation of pairs does not appear to detract from the behavioral benefits of pair housing. Separation by a barrier permitting tactile contact is inferior to other forms of social housing but showed modest improvements over single housing nonetheless. This study can guide the provision of social contact to rhesus macaques under conditions restricting pairs from continuous full contact.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing options for pair housing rhesus macaques using behavioral welfare measures

Baker

Bloomsmith

Oettinger³

et al. 2013

American J Primatol

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“…This population is heterogeneous on a number of factors that may influence the way individuals respond to social housing but the possible effects have not been measured. For example, prior research has demonstrated improved welfare in both female (Eaton et al, 1994) and male adult rhesus macaques (Doyle et al, 2008) when placed in isosexual pairs, but these studies vary in design so that effects of pair housing cannot be directly compared across sex. A more complete understanding of how the benefits of pair housing may differ between the sexes would be valuable because there remains a perception, unsupported by research findings, that males do not derive benefit from isosexual pair housing, if they can be paired at all.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most have not detected differences in cortisol measures or corticoadrenal functioning between macaques housed long term in single versus pair housing (e.g. Reinhardt et al, 1991a; Schapiro et al, 1993), but at least one study found cortisol levels were lower among adult male rhesus housed in compatible pairs compared to when they were housed singly (Doyle et al, 2008). The current study assesses serum cortisol levels to discern whether pair housing had a measurable effect on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior studies concerning pair housing of adult rhesus macaques have differed in design, sample size, and diversity of subjects (Doyle et al, 2008; Eaton et al, 1994; Lutz et al, 2003; Novak, 2003; Schapiro et al, 1996) A subject pool of sufficient size and variability with respect to sex, age, and history is necessary for determining how broadly the benefits of pair housing detected in prior research will be garnered across the many sources of variability within the population of caged rhesus macaques. It is necessary for determining whether there are subsets of the singly housed rhesus macaque population that do not experience improved well-being to the same extent as others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of pair housing are consistent across a diverse population of rhesus macaques

Baker

Bloomsmith²,

Oettinger

et al. 2012

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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Introducing singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) into isosexual pairs is widely considered to improve welfare. The population of laboratory rhesus macaques is heterogeneous on a variety of factors and there is little literature available to directly evaluate the influence of many of these factors on the benefits of pair housing. Subjects were 46 adult female and 18 adult male rhesus macaques housed at the Tulane National Primate Research Center and the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Behavioral data totalling 859 h and serum cortisol levels derived from 312 serum samples were analyzed for main effects of housing condition, comparing single housing to pair housing. In addition, a series of analyses were performed to test for interactions between housing condition and seven independent variables: sex, age, prior duration of single housing, presence or absence of a history of self-injurious behavior, and dominance rank, levels of affiliation and agonism in the paired setting. After the collection of 4–8 h of baseline data and three serum cortisol samples, pairs of individuals were introduced to one another and data collection was repeated, no earlier than 4 weeks after introduction. In pair housing both female and male subjects showed decrease in abnormal behavior (females: 54% reduction; P = 0.001; males: 18% reduction; P = 0.0007) and anxiety-related behavior (females: 35% reduction; P = 0.0001; males: 41% reduction; P = 0.0001), and increases in locomotion (females: 41% increase; P = 0.0001; males: 76% increase: P = 0.002). In pair housing, there were no significant sex differences in social behavior. Descriptively, paired females spent 12% of samples engaged in affiliative behavior and 0.5% engaged in agonistic behavior (back-transformed arcsin square root means). The corresponding values for males were 12% and 0.3%. No interaction effects were detected with any of the independent variables tested in this study. Cortisol values varied with sex but did not differ between housing conditions; no differences were detected when any of the above variables were included in the statistical model. Results support the general consensus among those studying the welfare of captive primates that social housing is a potent means for promoting behavioral indicators of the psychological well-being of laboratory primates. These results are of considerable practical significance and include information that refutes common perceptions about the unsuitability of males as socialization candidates, perceived negative

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Effect of living conditions on biochemical and hematological parameters of the cynomolgus monkey

Xie

Zhou

Liu³

et al. 2014

American J Primatol

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The cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) has been increasingly used in biomedical research. Although living conditions affect behavioral and physiological characteristics in macaques, little data is available on how living conditions influence blood-based parameters in the cynomolgus monkey. We hypothesize that there are significant differences in serum biochemical and hematological parameters in single-caged versus socially housed cynomolgus monkeys, and that age and sex influence the effect of living conditions on these parameters. Sixty single-caged and 60 socially housed cynomolgus monkeys were segregated by age group (juvenile, adult) and sex. The effects of living condition, age, sex, and the interactions between these factors on commonly reported serum biochemical and hematological parameters were analyzed by a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Then, the differences between single-caged and socially housed subjects were tested in each parameter by Student's t-test. Creatinine, glucose, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, red blood cell volume distribution width (SD, CV), median fluorescence reticulocyte percentage, white blood cell and basophil counts, and monocyte (count, %) were lower in single-caged subjects. Blood urea nitrogen and globulin were lower in single-caged juveniles and adults, respectively. Red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and neutrophil (count, %) were higher, and reticulocyte and lymphocyte (counts, %) were lower, in single-caged juveniles. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was higher in single-caged subjects (but more pronounced in adults). Total protein was higher in single-caged juvenile males and lower in single-caged adult females. Alkaline phosphatase was lower in single-caged juvenile females. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin was higher, and high fluorescence reticulocyte percentage was lower, in single-caged adult males. In conclusion, living conditions significantly affect several serum biochemical and hematological parameters in the cynomolgus monkey, and these effects vary by age and sex. As this macaque is commonly housed under different living conditions, these findings should aid researchers in avoiding inaccurate conclusions concerning this species.

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Physiological and behavioral effects of social introduction on adult male rhesus macaques

Abstract: Pair housing of laboratory macaques is widely considered to lead to positive changes in well-

Cited by 56 publications

References 38 publications

Comparing options for pair housing rhesus macaques using behavioral welfare measures

Comparing options for pair housing rhesus macaques using behavioral welfare measures

Benefits of pair housing are consistent across a diverse population of rhesus macaques

Effect of living conditions on biochemical and hematological parameters of the cynomolgus monkey

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