No description available.

The use of Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) for co-operation during routine husbandry and laboratory procedures is widely advocated as a means of promoting the welfare of nonhuman primates. However, while research originating in US zoos provide qualitative descriptions of how PRT may be used in the training of a wide variety of species, quantitative data and evidence to support the view that PRT reduces stress predominately comes from laboratory studies of primates whose training may have used other methods. Despite official guidelines, training is rarely carried out in the UK and the educational and wider organisational structures concerning training, present in the US are largely absent. The techniques used in the UK were assessed through detailed observations recorded when four stump-tailed macaques were trained to co-operate during venipuncture. Data recorded during training sessions showed that although food rewards were given, their delivery was slow and inconsistent. A certain amount of coercion was used which violates a principle of PRT which states that co-operation should be voluntary. The macaques showed increasing resistance to the process and a mild but detrimental effect on the subsequent behaviour of the study animals. When training resumed 18 months later there were considerable improvements in the techniques used. The macaques showed a greater willingness to participate and there were no significant changes in their behaviour when training days were compared to those when training did not take place. The behaviour of the macaques during venipuncture was judged to be arising from engineered compliance rather than voluntary co-operation. However, it was concluded that the technique observed, if carried out correctly, was a reasonable compromise between forced restraint and voluntary co-operation given the paucity of evidence showing the effectiveness of PRT for invasive procedures. However, it was also concluded that the use of coercion should be recognised and provide a focus for future refinement. The effectiveness and welfare implications ofPRT was assessed through the training of common marmosets to target and allow in-homecage weighing and to provide urine samples. It was found that the trained animals perfonned reliably and that time invested in training could be recouped through faster data collection. Following a period of training or increased positive contact with humans, observations of marmoset behaviour showed a decrease in stress related behaviours and an increase in allogrooming supporting the view that improved relations with humans had a beneficial effect. Following exposure to a mild stressor, trained marmosets showed no elevation in levels of urinary cortisol or stress related behaviours. Untrained animals showed increased levels of locomoting and selfscratching following exposure to the same stressor. It was concluded that PRT successfully reduced the stress associated with the presence of, and manipulation by, humans. Final recommendations were that training can promote the welfare of nonhuman primates and should be used in UK laboratories to a greater extent than is currently the case. However, the lack of educational opportunities for animal trainers in the UK needs to be addressed. It was also recommended that in light of the growing evidence showing the benefits that can arise from training and good relations with humans, the zero-handling policy practiced in many UK zoos should be reassessed.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Les spumavirus (SV) sont des rétrovirus exogènes de la sous-famille des Spumavirinae appartenant à la famille des Retroviridae. L’infection naturelle chez les primates non humains (PNH) est décrite dans la nature et en captivité, avec 75 à 100% de singes adultes infectés. Chez les PNH, la transmission des SV se fait à travers des morsures très graves. Par ailleurs, ces virus ont été isolés chez des travailleurs de zoo, exposés aux animaux infectés dans le cadre de leur travail. Récemment, des études ont aussi montré l’infection dans le milieu naturel chez des chasseurs au Cameroun. Cependant, aucune pathologie n’a jamais pu être associée à l’infection par ces virus. Au Gabon, les infections par des SV n’ont été que très peu étudiées. Les objectifs de cette thèse sont donc :1) D’évaluer au Gabon, la prévalence des SV dans la colonie de Mandrills en captivité au centre de primatologie (CDP) du CIRMF, ainsi que dans la nature chez un grand nombre d’espèces de primates non humains ;2) De caractériser sur le plan moléculaire les souches SV circulant au Gabon ;3) D’identifier chez des personnes mordues par un PNH des cas de transmission interespèces.Dans la première partie de ce travail, nous avons montré que 83% (70/84) des mandrills du CDP (38 males et 46 femelles) et 60% (9/15) des mandrills sauvages étaient infectés par le SV. L’infection augmentait avec l’âge et la différence entre les males et les femelles n’était pas significative (84% et 82%, respectivement). Un fragment de 425pb de l’integrase a été amplifié dans 60/69 et 53 nouvelles séquences ont été isolées. L’analyse phylogénétique a mis en évidence la circulation de 11 souches différentes dans la colonie, toutes étroitement liées sauf une. La confirmation de ces résultats à l’aide de séquences de virus chez des mandrills sauvages démontre l’existence de deux groupes de mandrills (nord et sud) localisés de part et d’autre du fleuve Ogooué. En plus, nous avons étudié 497 échantillons de plasma et tissus prélevés chez 13 espèces simiennes dans la nature. L’analyse sérologique a montré l’infection par SV chez 10.8% (31/286). Le fragment de l’integrase a été caractérisé dans 38/497 échantillons, avec la description de nouvelles infections naturelles chez les C. solatus, C. nictitans et C. cephus. Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons décrit l’infection chez 20% (4/20) des travailleurs du CDP. La caractérisation moléculaire a été faite chez deux d’entre eux: l’un a été mordu il y a 10 ans par un mandrill clairement identifié, et l’autre par un macaque 25 ans auparavant. En milieu naturel, nous avons testé 78 personnes mordues par un PNH. Au total, 19 personnes mordues (24%) étaient séropositives pour le SV. Sur ces 19 individus, 15 séquences virales ont été obtenues dont 12 de gorilles, 2 de chimpanzés et une de cercopithèque. Ces résultats montrent que les PNH du Gabon sont infectés par les SV et que la transmission inter espèces des SV intervient chez des personnes mordues par ces animaux. / Foamy viruses are members of the Spumavirus genus of the Retroviridae family. These complex exogenous retroviruses are highly prevalent in several animal species, including nonhuman primates (NHP). The seroprevalence of antibodies to Simian foamy virus (SFVs) in captive adult NHP populations can reach 75-100%. SFV infection has been reported in people occupationally exposed to nonhuman primates in zoos. Recently, naturally acquired SFV infections were described in a group of hunters living in Cameroon, central Africa.In Gabon, foamy viruses are less studied. In our study, we evaluated the natural history of SFV in a free-ranging colony of mandrills (CIRMF primate center) and in mandrills living in natura in Gabon (central Africa). We also determined the SFV prevalence in a series of 497 NHP living in different parts of Gabon. Lastly, we investigated the possible transmission of SFVs to humans.First, SFV infection was determined by specific serological (Western blot) and molecular (nested PCR of the integrase region in the polymerase gene) assays. Seropositivity for SFV was found in 70/84 (83%) captive and 9/15 (60%) wild-caught mandrills. The 425-bp SFV integrase fragment was detected in peripheral blood DNA from 53 captive and 8 wild-caught mandrills.Sequence and phylogenetic studies demonstrated the presence of two distinct strains of mandrill SFV, one clade including SFVs from mandrills living in the northern part of Gabon and the second consisting of SFV from animals living in the south. Among the NHP, 10.8% (31/286) of the plasma/sera were SFV seropositive. Integrase gene was characterized in 38 samples with novel SFVs in several species of Cercopithecus.Second, the presence of SFV was also evaluated in 20 people who worked closely with mandrills and other NHP. Integrase region of 425 bp was found in 2/20 (10%) humans. One man who had been bitten 10 years earlier by a mandrill and another bitten 22 years earlier by a macaque were found to be SFV-infected, both at the Primate Centre. Comparative sequence analysis of the virus from the first man and from the mandrill showed nearly identical sequences, indicating genetic stability of SFV over time. The second man had a sequence close to SFVmac sequences. Of the 78 people, mostly hunters, who had been bitten or scratched by NHPs, 19 were SFV seropositive, with 15 cases confirmed by PCR. All but one were infected with ape SFV. We thus found novel SFV strains in NHPs in Gabon and high interspecies transmission of SFVs from gorilla bites.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 1994. / This thesis presents an :investigation into the functional morphology and form of the skeletal elements of" the shoulder girdle of extant h0111inoids and extinct hO)ll.inids\~hich inhabited the Afr:i.c~n continent during the Late pliocene and Elarly \Ii Ii \Ii, ill Partic'l.l.lcu: emphasis is placed o\~\the \' i\. form of the scapula, clavicle and humerus. \Ii variation in the bony, arthrological and 41.yoloQif\;Lcal I" anatomy' Of this region in extant hominoids is I Pleistocene. examined. In light of biomechaniq~l models II reSUlting from this work, the bony,;anatomy of u hominid shoulder girdle elements examined and i. .1 r;:I~t>. ssil .1,1 . " biomechanical interpretations are made. The fossil shoulder girdle elements exan\ine~ in this study are grouped into four species samples. The first sample (Australopithecus a.:friCaIlUS) comprises Pliocene ,fossils from sterkfontein, South Africa. 'rhe second sampJ.e (A. afarelJ.si.s) i.s comprised of fossilo front Hadar, Ethiopia. The third (Homo habilis) and, fourth (ii. boisei) samples comprise fossils from C'lduvai GorgeI Ta:nzania, Koobi For~ll, Ke!nya and t.ne omo Valley ~ Ethiopia. When the t!;ossil homi.ndd. remains are scrt.ed into specf.ea, jl~heI:;houlder g;l.rdle elements InelYd:>e used to const.zuct; and contrast specd.es specijSiq '1· . ) bitOmechar1,ic::aml odelS of th~ shoulder. Th~~se models e:>fltP10re differernoes in form amon~,r.;tj;ossil hominid. species that may'be reJ,ated to dii.:;eetenc;:.es in behaviour. The models may also be appU.ed to the :~......,..~ interpretation of systemat.ic relationShips amongst early hominids. In o:(.~ierto construct models of early homi:p,ids it is first necessary to establish the,movement, myology and oste0logy of the extant hominoid shoulder. Chapters 4,5 and 6 sUl'l.1Il1ar~n,$eew data and available in,formation concel:"ning shoulder girdle mo.Jementand form. Chapter 7 presents detailed C';escriptiQns Of the fossil hominid ma.terial (u:::::19) available for study. 'rhis descriptive information, in conibination with all of the information derived from Chapters 4 through 6, is then used to inte1.pret, compaxe and contrast the fu.nctional morphology Of the shoulder girdle elements of each species of early hotninid. pa:q:ticuJ.ar emphasis is placed .on those features that cart be. directly related to specific :functiOl'l~ Model.s ,,.l the functional morphology of each of t1Je four species are then created. comparisons are made between indJ.vidual Shoulder girdle elements 'cg,fthe different homj.nid spacd.es as well as between the interpreted total morphology of each species' shoulder girdle. The study concludes that the functional m~>l':phologyof the shoulder girdle Qf A. afriaanus is unique ~unorJ.gstknown hominoic1~mode'l.s in that it poasesaes shoul<;ier girdle mo;t,'ph.oo.)gy adapted to bobh suspen ory behaviour and bipE~d;;d~i.srn. TIte suspensory adaptations are :Lndi9ated by the overall ape ..like morphology of the humeri, claviculae and heCid.of the scapulae, whilst bipedalism is mainly (J G indicated. by a broad, human-like inf.Ell:'ior'an9,'].eof " = the scapula. Several' RpparentlY prim.itive featu:r:es" are present in,..the A. africanus Ejcapl,1la,incl~dirtg a 0i,? ..... . _ .. '. \ shortened scapular 'n~ck, that ind:l.Cate'-\poss~ple ancestry f.roma quadru:pedal form. ~p.e functi<:>tJ.al. morphology of the A. afarens.ts shoulder is founa .to be more diffi.cult to interpret d'.le to poor f(i:; ,pre.~ervationt but the hypothesised znodel'~does not diffe):: substantially from th~t constructed for A. _c,~) . ..' .', 1) (; a£ricanus. The few robust aURtra.lopithecine,.,(A. boi.se:1) sho~~der girdle elements appear to possess ~,.. similar morpJ;lologi.esto A. a.:falyrnsis and )1- africanus. There ara .no'l:.SUfi:'lc:tently well preServedoH. habili.s shoulder girdle elements preserved to 'makemeffilningfulinterpreta.tions about the functional morphology of this, specie~:' .' n the lack of comparable elements amongst the two (I 1arger samples (...21.. a:faJ;'ensi.s and ,fl. arr:J;canus) I .it '..':::/ is not knownwhether the features found to be apparently unique to either species are useful as n taxonomic indicators.

Fecal samples were obtained from guenons in Gombe National Park utilizing noninvasive, opportunistic sampling techniques. Samples were then examined for the presence of gastrointestinal parasites using chlorazol black stain, Lugol’s iodine staining, as well as concentration via fecal flotation with Sheather’s sugar solution. Results were analyzed using SPSS (IBM corp), and compared to other forested regions in Africa to determine whether hybridization influences parasite prevalence of these guenons living in Gombe; and if these guenons differ from similar guenons in other regions of Africa. The null hypothesis was unable to be rejected in all cases; hybridization could not be stated as a contributing factor for differences found in parasitic prevalence rates. Furthermore, no statistical difference was found between Gombe’s guenons, and those living in other regions of Africa in most cases. The author suspects that the abundance of parasitic generalists discovered, small sample size, and opportunistic sampling protocol contribute to these finding. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Depuis quelques dizaines d’années, un intérêt croissant s’est développé pour la protection des espèces et la compréhension des mécanismes qui les conduisent à l’extinction. Actuellement, les causes d’extinction sont pour la grande majorité d’origine anthropique, mais un certain nombre de facteurs intrinsèques, propres à chaque espèce, peuvent interagir avec ces pressions anthropiques, pour aboutir au risque d’extinction. De nombreuses études ont mis en évidence l’impact des traits d’histoires de vie et des caractéristiques écologiques dans la vulnérabilité des espèces à l’extinction, mais très peu se sont penchées sur le rôle du comportement. Or, de par leur nature, tout un ensemble de comportements pourraient constituer des facteurs de vulnérabilité intrinsèques chez les espèces, que ce soit au niveau du risque d’extinction, ou au niveau des principales pressions anthropiques qui existent actuellement. Le but de cette thèse est de déterminer l’impact des caractéristiques du système social et de l’intensité de la sélection sexuelle dans la vulnérabilité des espèces de Primates i) aux principales pressions anthropiques (i.e. chasse, exploitation forestière et agriculture), à un niveau local, en portant une attention spécial au rôle d’infanticide dans la vulnérabilité à la chasse et ii) au risque d’extinction tel que décrit par l’UICN, au niveau global. Ce dernier point nous a amenés à analyser plus spécifiquement l’impact de l’hétérogénéité de l’empreinte humaine dans le risque d’extinction. Toutes nos études reposent sur une approche d’analyses comparatives. Nos différents travaux ont permis de mettre en évidence des effets du comportement à aux différentes échelles spatiales et pour les deux niveaux de vulnérabilité, mais avec des différences dans la nature des variables comportementales impliquées. Nous avons identifié des effets de la taille moyenne des groupes et du système socio-reproducteur dans la vulnérabilité à l’exploitation forestière, mais pas pour les autres menaces testées. De plus, ces effets ont été retrouvés au niveau du risque d’extinction, mais dans des sens différents. Ainsi, les mécanismes impliqués dans la vulnérabilité des espèces diffèrent selon le type de vulnérabilité étudié, faisant intervenir différents effets Allee. / Improving species protection and better understanding the mechanisms leading to population decline and ultime extinction has become a major research area over the last decades. Nowadays, the causes of extinction are mostly anthropogenic, but some intrinsic factors, specific to each species, can interact with these anthropogenic pressures to determine the extinction risk. Many studies have highlighted the impact of life history traits and ecological characteristics on species vulnerability to extinction, but very few have investigated the role of behaviour. Because of the mechanisms they imply, several behaviours could constitute intrinsic factors of vulnerability among species, at the level of extinction risk, or concerning the main anthropogenic pressures threatening species. The aim of this thesis is to determine the impact of the social system and sexual selection on primate vulnerability i) to the main anthropogenic threats (i.e. hunting, logging and agriculture) and, particularly, the role of infanticide on their vulnerability to hunting, and ii) to the extinction risk as described by the IUCN conservation status. This point has lead us to examine also the impact of human footprint heterogeneity on extinction risk. All our studies are based on a comparative analysis approach. Our different works highlighted several impacts of behavioural variables at the two spatial scales and for the two levels of vulnerability, but with differences in the nature of the behavioural variables. We identified significant effects of the average group size and the socio-reproductive system in species vulnerability to logging, but not in species vulnerability to the other threats. Moreover, these effects have also been found at the level of the extinction risk, but in different ways. Thus, the mechanisms implicated in the vulnerability are different according to the type of vulnerability, and rely on several Allee effects.

Une hypothèse dominant actuellement les théories sur l’évolution des capacités syntaxiques est celle d’une spécificité humaine pour le traitement des grammaires supra-régulières. Cette hypothèse est supportée par les données comparatives actuellement disponibles, qui ne fournissent pas de démonstration non ambiguë de cette capacité chez une autre espèce. Dans cette thèse, nous avons adopté une nouvelle approche consistant à examiner si ces échecs pourraient découler de la difficulté que représente l'extraction de régularités non-adjacentes. Pour tester cette hypothèse, nous avons mené une série de quatre études chez le babouin de guinée (Papio papio) et l’humain. La première étude montre que les babouins requièrent une quantité d’exposition beaucoup plus importante que l’humain pour apprendre des associations non-adjacentes. Dans une seconde étude, les babouins ont pu généraliser des patterns basés sur une répétition adjacente ou non-adjacente d’un élément, mais ils se sont montrés davantage sensibles à ces premiers. Une troisième étude, corrélationnelle, révèle que les babouins se montrant sensibles aux régularités non-adjacentes ne sont pas ceux obtenant les meilleures performances pour l’apprentissage de dépendances adjacentes. Une dernière étude suggère que les babouins sont sensibles à une structure en miroir (impliquant des dépendances centrées-emboitées), mais pas à une structure en copie (à dépendances croisées). Ces résultats mettent au jour une importante continuité des capacités syntaxiques au sein de la lignée des primates, mais révèlent également des différences inter-spécifiques importantes dans les contraintes mnésiques pesant sur celles-ci. / A current dominant hypothesis on the evolution of syntactic abilities propose that the processing of supra-regular grammars is a unique human capacity. In support of this hypothesis, artificial grammar learning studies conducted so far do not provide unambiguous demonstration of this capacity in a non-human species. In this thesis, we adopted a new approach by studying cognitive prerequisites for supra-regular grammar processing. Our hypothesis was that these previous failures could be attributed to a bias in these species towards the exploitation of local regularities and difficulties for processing more distant relationships, rather than an inability to master supra-regular grammars. We conducted a series of experiments in Guinea baboons (Papio papio) and humans to assess this hypothesis. In a first experiment, we show that baboons need much more exposure than humans to learn non-adjacent associations. In a second study, we show that baboons can generalize patterns involving an adjacent or a non-adjacent repetition of an element, but that they are more sensitive to the former. A third, correlational, study reveal that baboons succeeding to extract non-adjacent regularities are not those showing the best performance in learning local ones. A last study suggest that baboons are sensitive to a mirror structure (involving center-embedded dependencies), but not to a copy structure (crossed dependencies). Overall, our results reveal a stronger continuity in grammar processing capacities within the primate order than previously thought, but also highlight important species differences in memory constraints.

Cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are the most commonly used non-human primate for research and testing in Europe. Their principal use is in preclinical safety testing of new pharmaceuticals to assess risk of adverse effects, as indicated by changes in a core battery of physiological measures before human exposure. Regulatory studies are strictly controlled through legislation and codes of practices underpinned by the principles of humane science, the 3Rs; Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. Despite the link between good welfare and good science now universally made in codes of practice, legislation and the literature, there are few studies aimed at systematically examining the link and almost no quantitative data from cynomolgus macaques used for toxicology. The main aim of this thesis was to examine the link between Refinement, animal welfare and scientific output for this important animal model, piggy-backing on regulatory studies conducted by a large contract research organisation. In the laboratory, animal welfare is formally considered in terms of Refinement which has evolved to include both the reduction of negative welfare states and the proactive enhancement of positive welfare over the animal’s lifetime. A multidisciplinary approach to welfare assessment including measures of behaviour, physiology and physical health, and which built upon current unit procedures was undertaken to produce an overall assessment of welfare in cynomolgus macaques. Macaque facial expressions, vocalisations, activity and position in the home cage, body weight change, body condition and alopecia scores were found to be reliable indicators of welfare state and would be most feasible for care staff to monitor. The concept of quality of scientific output was defined in relation to toxicological findings and includes sensitivity, reliability and repeatability of individual measures in the core battery (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, haematology, clinical chemistry and organ weights). The link between welfare and quality of scientific output was then systematically explored with Refinements to macaque use in regulatory studies. The first, a data mining study, undertaken to quantify the effects on biological data recorded from cynomolgus macaques, used in regulatory studies over an eight-year period as the CASE sponsor transitioned from single to permanent group housing, found the effects to be highly variable on individual parameters in the core battery and in some instances welfare-positive effects of group housing were confounded by concurrent changes in standard operating procedures. A further study of planned Refinements to macaque-care staff interaction through enhanced socialisation was found to help animals cope better with husbandry and scientific procedures and enhance quality of cardiovascular measures recorded at baseline. In light of these findings a number of recommendations are made including a framework of terms useful for measuring quality of scientific output, a welfare assessment framework and Refinements to husbandry and scientific procedures for cynomolgus macaques used in regulatory toxicology. Because of their capacity to suffer it is both ethically and scientifically important that macaque welfare is maximised and their use results in valid and reliable experimental outcomes informing on the safety and efficacy of new pharmaceuticals prior to human exposure.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal