Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Sarah Neal Webb, Steven Schapiro
Summary: The relationship between locomotion and welfare in captive chimpanzees is complex, but increased locomotion is generally considered to indicate improved welfare. However, there is a limited number of studies that have used locomotion as a welfare indicator. Four previously published studies showed that increased locomotion in captive chimpanzees is associated with enhanced welfare, suggesting that time spent in locomotion can be used as a sensitive measure of welfare.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Julia L. Greeson, Kara Gabriel, J. B. Mulcahy, Bonnie King Hendrickson, Susan D. Lonborg, Jay C. Holloway
Summary: Environmental enrichment is important for captive chimpanzees to minimize stress and boredom and provide opportunities for species-typical behaviors. This study investigated the associations between enrichment objects, manipulation behaviors, and social contexts in captive chimpanzees. It also examined the individual differences in enrichment object preferences. The results showed that enrichment objects might serve distinct social and behavioral purposes, and chimpanzees vary in their enrichment object preferences. Caregivers should consider individual needs when providing enrichment to improve chimpanzees' experiences in captivity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rafaela S. C. Takeshita, Melissa K. Edler, Richard S. Meindl, Chet C. Sherwood, William D. Hopkins, Mary Ann Raghanti
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between DHEAS levels and age, as well as the potential associations between the DHEAS/cortisol ratio and cognitive function in chimpanzees. The results showed that DHEAS levels declined with age and the DHEAS/cortisol ratio was positively correlated with spatial cognition.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Judy Che-Castaldo, Kristin Havercamp, Koshiro Watanuki, Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Satoshi Hirata, Stephen R. Ross
Summary: This study presents a comparative analysis of life history data for chimpanzee populations in North America and Japan, revealing differences in survival patterns based on sex and region. Males generally exhibit higher mortality rates compared to females, with variation observed in first year mortality rates across different populations.
Article
Zoology
Loic Pougnault, Alban Lemasson, Baptiste Mulot, Florence Levrero
Summary: The vocal behavior of a group of chimpanzees is influenced by caller characteristics, production context, and social needs. Vocal turn-taking plays a key role in affiliative encounters, with the number and speed of calls affecting audience reaction. However, social integration, age, and sex have a weaker influence on call rates and interaction patterns.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen, Bernadette M. C. Bruinstroop, Daniel B. M. Haun
Summary: Negative early experiences can have long-lasting negative effects on social functioning in adolescence and adulthood, both in humans and other socially living animals. Recent studies indicate that zoo-housed chimpanzees may suffer lifelong social scars after early trauma. This study investigated whether orphaned chimpanzees living in a sanctuary in Africa would show similar effects. The findings suggest that sanctuaries can be valuable rehabilitation centers for orphaned chimpanzees, helping them cope with early life adversities.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Amy Fultz, Akie Yanagi, Sarah Breaux, Leilani Beaupre
Summary: This study examines how group size, location, rearing, age, and sex differences affect affiliative, aggressive, and submissive behaviors in chimpanzees during social integrations. The results show that the chimpanzees' sex, location, and group size are associated with the frequency of affiliative behaviors during social integration. All variables except group size are associated with the frequency of aggressive behavior. The frequency of submissive behavior differs based on the chimpanzees' sex, rearing history, and group size.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
William D. D. Hopkins, Michele M. M. Mulholland, Mary Catherine Mareno, Sarah J. Neal Webb, Steven J. J. Schapiro
Summary: Declarative and imperative joint attention are crucial developmental milestones in human infants, with implications for language development. While chimpanzees as a group perform better than chance in receptive joint attention tasks, individual performance did not show significant differences. The performance in object choice tasks was not significantly heritable, and there were no significant effects of sex, rearing history, or colony, suggesting a complex interplay of factors influencing task performance. The differences in gray matter covariation between those who passed and failed the task suggest potential implications for the importance of social brain networks in both human and nonhuman primate social cognition.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lara M. Southern, Tobias Deschner, Simone Pika
Summary: Intraspecies violence, including lethal interactions, is common in mammals while interspecies violence is mainly studied in the context of predation and competition. The study provides information on two lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees on western lowland gorillas in Gabon, discussing them in relation to theories of predation, competition, and intraspecific interactions. The findings may lead to further research on interspecies interactions and aid in understanding behavioral adaptations and interspecific killing in the hominin lineage.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Kristin Havercamp, Matilda Brindle, Volker Sommer, Satoshi Hirata
Summary: This study investigated nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) in adult male chimpanzees and found that two thirds of the individuals experienced NPT, with most occurrences happening during the transition from sleep to wakefulness. Masturbation was observed in 4-6 individuals during NPT. These findings contribute to our understanding of nocturnal erections in chimpanzees and may shed light on the physiological phenomenon in humans.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Naomi Anderson, Bala Amarasekaran, David Riba
Summary: The study showed that the welfare of captive chimpanzees is higher when nesting materials, particularly shredded newspaper, are provided. Welfare was found to be highest in the morning, in groups of older individuals, with females engaging in less agonistic behaviors than males, and with males displaying relatively higher behavioral competence. The results also indicate the importance of providing destructible enrichment materials and show that synthetic enrichments can have a more positive impact on welfare compared to natural materials.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthias Allritz, Josep Call, Ken Schweller, Emma S. McEwen, Miguel de Guinea, Karline R. L. Janmaat, Charles R. Menzel, Francine L. Dolins
Summary: This study presented a seminaturalistic virtual environment to six chimpanzees, showing their spatial cognition abilities and the potential of virtual environments for primate research. The chimpanzees exhibited behaviors similar to real-life navigation, indicating the high ecological validity of virtual environments for testing. Virtual environments can provide standardized testing with higher ecological validity than traditional tests in captivity.
Article
Zoology
Kristin Havercamp, Naruki Morimura, Satoshi Hirata
Summary: The study revealed that as chimpanzees age, they experience more frequent awakenings and shorter sleep bouts, resulting in more fragmented sleep. However, nightly sleep duration and the length of awake bouts did not differ significantly between different study periods.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Anthropology
Stacy Lindshield, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Amanda H. Korstjens, Linda F. Marchant, Victor Narat, Papa Ibnou Ndiaye, Hideshi Ogawa, Alex K. Piel, Jill D. Pruetz, Fiona A. Stewart, Kelly L. van Leeuwen, Erin G. Wessling, Midori Yoshikawa
Summary: The savanna environment presents challenges for chimpanzees, such as food and water scarcity, leading to behavioral adaptations like thermoregulatory behaviors. Savannas are generally associated with lower chimpanzee population densities and larger home ranges. The observed responses in chimpanzees to savanna landscapes offer pathways for future research on evolutionary processes and mechanisms.
EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Eloise C. Deaux, Adrian Baumeyer, Klaus Zuberbuehler
Summary: This study found that learning was significantly enhanced in the contextually correct rough grunt condition among chimpanzees, suggesting that food calls may play a role in the cultural transmission of food preferences.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Luigimaria Borruso, Alice Checcucci, Valeria Torti, Federico Correa, Camillo Sandri, Daine Luise, Luciano Cavani, Monica Modesto, Caterina Spiezio, Tanja Mimmo, Stefano Cesco, Maura Di Vito, Francesca Bugli, Rose M. Randrianarison, Marco Gamba, Nianja J. Rarojoson, Cesare Avesani Zaborra, Paola Mattarelli, Paolo Trevisi, Cristina Giacoma
Summary: Indris, an endangered lemur species, have an intimate connection with the soil through geophagy, sharing fungal OTUs and potentially beneficial fungal species between the soil and their gut mycobiome. This highlights the potential impacts on the wider habitat.
Correction
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Monica Modesto, Maria Satti, Koichi Watanabe, Edoardo Puglisi, Lorenzo Morelli, Chien-Hsun Huang, Jong-Shian Liou, Mika Miyashita, Tomohiko Tamura, Satomi Saito, Koji Mori, Lina Huang, Piero Sciavilla, Camillo Sandri, Caterina Spiezio, Francesco Vitali, Duccio Cavalieri, Giorgia Perpetuini, Rosanna Tofalo, Andrea Bonetti, Masanori Arita, Paola Mattarelli
SYSTEMATIC AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Barbara Regaiolli, Sofia Bolcato, Giorgio Ottolini, Giorgio Vallortigara, Dietelmo Pievani, Caterina Spiezio
Summary: Cognitive abilities vary widely among parrots, with lateralized ones performing better in tests, but there seems to be no clear correlation between foot preference and cognitive performance.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Caterina Spiezio, Camillo Sandri, Flavien Joubert, Marie-May Muzungaile, Selby Remy, Paola Mattarelli, Barbara Regaiolli
Summary: This study investigated lateralization in Aldabra giant tortoises by observing the positioning of the head and limbs during rest, revealing asymmetrical positioning in some individuals and suggesting a potential link to left-eye/right-hemisphere involvement in anti-predatory responses and threatening stimuli.
Article
Microbiology
Federico Correa, Valeria Torti, Caterina Spiezio, Alice Checcucci, Monica Modesto, Luigimaria Borruso, Luciano Cavani, Tanja Mimmo, Stefano Cesco, Diana Luise, Rose M. Randrianarison, Marco Gamba, Nianja J. Rarojoson, Maurizio Sanguinetti, Maura Di Vito, Francesca Bugli, Paola Mattarelli, Paolo Trevisi, Cristina Giacoma, Camillo Sandri
Summary: Research on the gut microbiome in primates provides insights into their health, ecology, evolution, and behavior, benefiting conservation efforts and habitat protection. Investigations on the indri lemur's gut microbiome composition and their geophagy behavior offer valuable information for developing conservation strategies. Additionally, exploring the ecological value of geophagic soil as a nutrient supply highlights the intricate relationship between diet and gut detoxification activities in primates.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Marzia Baldachini, Barbara Regaiolli, Miquel Llorente, David Riba, Caterina Spiezio
Summary: The study found that Barbary macaques do not have side preferences during social interactions, possibly due to both hemispheres being complementary and balancing each other. However, they are more likely to be kept in front rather than on the rear by close conspecifics, presumably to detect emotions and intentions during social interactions. Further research is needed to explore social laterality in more depth, potentially by examining additional categories of social interactions and identifying variables that may impact positioning preferences.
Article
Zoology
Caterina Spiezio, Marta Pugassi, Christian Agrillo, Barbara Regaiolli
Summary: This study focuses on color preference and manual laterality in emperor tamarins. The results suggest that red cones elicit a left-hand preference, indicating right-hemisphere involvement in perceiving red stimuli.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Valentina Bertoni, Caterina Spiezio, Barbara Regaiolli, Alessandro Cozzi, Paola Valsecchi, Simona Normando
Summary: This study is the first to document the behavioral responses of a group of wildcats upon reunion with one previous member of the social group after a long separation. The study found that the behavioral patterns of the late-reunion periods resembled those of the pre-reunion period, highlighting the importance of systematic publications about reunion strategies and outcomes in zoos and other facilities.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Caterina Spiezio, Barbara Regaiolli, Margherita Savonitto, Simon Bruslund, Stefano Vaglio
Summary: This study evaluates the impact of conservation initiatives led by European zoos in Madagascar on lemur conservation. The findings suggest that these initiatives have a positive impact on wild lemur conservation, but improved communication with the public is necessary.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Caterina Spiezio, Elena Giulia Galardi, Camillo Sandri, Barbara Regaiolli
Summary: The effect of visitor presence on animal behavior was evaluated in this study to ensure the welfare and improve the husbandry of individuals in zoos. The presence of visitors led to increased inactivity and decreased performance of species-specific behavior in Amur tigers, snow leopards, and Eurasian lynx.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Valentina Bertoni, Barbara Regaiolli, Alessandro Cozzi, Stefano Vaglio, Caterina Spiezio
Summary: This study investigated the behavioral changes of a group of European wildcats in a zoo after the introduction of novel objects and scent stimuli. The results showed no significant behavioral differences except for decreased exploration when blocks were introduced. However, the presence of manipulative objects (rags) and scent (F3) appeared to impact the wildcats' behavior, particularly in affiliative and agonistic behaviors.
Article
Microbiology
Donatella Scarafile, Diana Luise, Vincenzo Motta, Caterina Spiezio, Monica Modesto, Marzia Mattia Porcu, Yadid Yitzhak, Federico Correa, Camillo Sandri, Paolo Trevisi, Paola Mattarelli
Summary: Intestinal bacteria establish a host-specific relationship with the Red River Hog, resulting in a unique gut microbiota composition. This study analyzed the gut microbiota and Bifidobacterium species distribution in Red River Hogs housed in different zoological gardens to understand the effects of captivity and host genetics. The results showed that the gut microbiota reflects the lifestyle and age, while host genetics determine the Bifidobacterium population.
Article
Zoology
Caterina Spiezio, Stefano Vaglio, Camille Vandelle, Camillo Sandri, Barbara Regaiolli
Summary: Mother-reared chimpanzees exhibited more locomotion and affiliative behaviors, while hand-reared individuals showed more abnormal behaviors. Therefore, hand-rearing can have a significant impact on the behavioral repertoire of adult zoo-housed chimpanzees.
FOLIA PRIMATOLOGICA
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Barbara Regaiolli, Luca Mancini, Giorgio Vallortigara, Caterina Spiezio
Summary: The study found that wolves tend to use a single paw rather than both when interacting with environmental enrichment devices, suggesting that lateralization may provide practical advantages for each individual in paw use. Despite the small sample size, the results still provide interesting insights into lateralization in wolves, deserving further research.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Barbara Regaiolli, Caterina Spiezio, Giorgio Ottolini, Camillo Sandri, Giorgio Vallortigara
Summary: This study investigated the presence of lateralized behaviors in zoo flamingos and found group-level right-side preferences for foraging in both greater flamingos and Chilean flamingos. Differences between the two flocks were observed, with greater flamingos displaying a stronger right preference than Chilean flamingos. Males also showed a more pronounced right preference than females in some categories.