This study investigated the mother-infant relationships of Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) at the Mt. Longevity during the first 24 weeks of infants¡¦ age. The field observation took place from January to November 2002 and from April to December 2003. The total observation time recorded was 450 hours. The death rate of infant males (23.7%) was higher than that of infant females (2.8%). The death rate of infants born at the later period (41.7%) was higher than those of infant born at the earlier and the peak periods (7.7%, 8.2%). The death rate of infants from primiparous females (30.8%, 4/13) was slightly higher than that of infants from multiparous females (9.8%, 6/61, p>0.05). During the observation period, I followed 43 mother-infant dyads, but 5 infants died or disappeared, and only 38 pairs left. Mother¡Vinfant relationships in Formosan macaques were influenced by infant age and sex, matriline size and the number of immature sister of the infant. The percentages of time that mother-infant contact, sucking, mother carrying ,cradle infant, and the percentages of number that contact made by mother and mother restrain infant broken contact were decrease as infants grow older. On the other hand, the percentage of time that mother-infant distance > 1 meter and mother grooming increased as infants older. But mother reject infant contact was not affected by infant¡¦s age. Adult females spent more time carrying female than male infants when infants were one week old. Developments in jumping and eating were seen earlier in male than female infants. The percentages of time in ventro-ventral contact in mother-infant dyads decreased as the number of infants¡¦ immature sisters increased within infants¡¦ first month of age. When a mother wounded, she spent less time in contacts with her infant; however, when the infant wounded, mother¡Vinfant dyads spent more time in contacts. The data provide a better fit to the Reciprocity hypothesis because the percentage of the female (87.3%, 234/268) to take care of infants was higher than male (12.7%). The percentage of the adult female (allomother) to take care of female infants (59.0%, 79/134 ) is higher than taking care of male infants (41.0%, p<0.005 ). The percentage of the adult female that takes care of non-blood related infants (81.6%, 71/87) is considerably higher than the percentage of taking care of blood-related infants (18.4%, p<0.0001). The percentage of adult female that grabs infants roughly (87.4%, 83/95) is higher than juvenile female (7.4%, 7/95 ).

HIV/AIDS annually kills millions of people worldwide. Those claimed by the disease are quickly replaced by those newly infected. Three times as many new infections occur globally, as patients who are likely to have access to antiretroviral therapy. We need a HIV vaccine. However, the better HIV protein to target for this vaccine in unknown. Structural proteins such as Group specific antigen (Gag) and Envelope (Env) were thought likely candidates due to viral structural proteins usually being highly conserved and constrained in their ability to mutate to escape T cell attack. To establish if Env-specific T cells could control viraemia, 2 large vaccine trials were conducted with 66 pigtail macaques participating. Also, 2 reversion trials involving 4 pigtail macaques were undertaken. Env-specific T cell epitopes were mapped in both SHIV (simian/human immunodeficiency virus) and SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus)-infected macaques using IFNγ intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry.

The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) is endangered due to habitat destruction with less than 3500 individuals remaining in isolated fragments of South-West India. Lion-tailed macaques do not reproduce readily in captivity and captive breeding may be relied upon for future conservation. Poor welfare can have negative effects on reproduction so it is important that lion-tailed macaque welfare is examined in captive groups. The aims of this thesis were to understand certain aspects of lion-tailed macaque welfare (behaviour and HPA physiology) in captive populations, with the view to making suggestions for management to promote the species' welfare and reproduction. Behaviour (188 hours), urine (n=133) and faecal samples (n=294) were collected from 38 lion-tailed macaques housed in four groups at the North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo), Bristol Zoological Gardens, Assiniboine Park Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park. The study successfully developed and validated assays to detect cortisol in lion-tailed macaque urine and faeces. The assays were then subsequently used to explore behaviour and HPA activity in these endangered primates. The institution in which the individuals were housed and basic life history parameters (age and sex) were explored to further understand the interplay between behaviour and physiology. Social relationships were assessed by measuring proximity (inter-individual distances and time spent in &quot;arms-reach&quot;). Finally the effect of visitors on behaviour, HPA activity and enclosure use was explored. There was significant variation between institutions in behaviour and HPA activity but not proximity. The age of lion-tailed macaques modified their behaviour, but not their HPA activity or proximity. The sex of lion-tailed macaques did not modify behaviour, HPA activity or proximity. The effect of visitors on lion-tailed macaques in the current study is not clear and confirms previous research on the visitor effect on captive primates. It can be concluded from this research that lion-tailed macaques are sensitive to the environment in which they are housed, indicating factors which may have negative effects on their captive breeding rates and ability to cope with habitat fragmentation for population's in-situ. The study has highlighted the need for each captive and wild group of lion-tailed macaques to be considered and monitored separately with regard to welfare and breeding.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Abstract The present study investigated the activity patterns of Formosan macaques at Mt. Longevity and an emphasis was given to feeding and foraging behavior. The diet composition of Formosan macaque showed significant changes among different age and sex classes of macaques as well as among different seasons. The field research was carried out from August 2003 to July 2004 for a total of 311 hrs covering 77 days. Feeding behavior dominated the activity patterns of the macaques at Mt. Longevity (28.11%), followed by other behaviors such as affiliate (24.71%), resting (17.10%) and moving (16.04%). In contrast, foraging (8.22%) and agonistic behaviors (5.50%) were the least among the activity patterns recorded during this study. Interestingly, adult males spent more time in resting (30.60%) while adult females spent more time in feeding (29.84%), which indicated that the activity patterns were influenced by sex and age groups. Plant food items accounted for 94.87% of their diet while the seminal fluid and breast milk accounted for 5.08%. The plant food items consumed by the monkeys came from 46 species in 31 families and the fruits alone amounted 42.18%. Other food items included leaf (26.20%), stem (11.84%), flower (10.33%), bud (9.14%) and root (0.03%). The relative frequency of fruit consumption by the macaques was higher than 40 % between May and September (40.53% - 63.79%) and December to January (54.66% - 55.28%). The Formosan macaque diet composition changed according to the sex and age class groups. The Simpson index, Shannon-Wiener index and Levine¡¦s niche breadth index changed according to sex, age and months respectively. The plant food diversity indexes were highest for the juvenile males and lowest for the adult females. The Levine¡¦s niche breadth index was broader for the juvenile females but narrowest for the adult females. Adult females consumed 35 species of plants which is higher than the number of species that the adult males and juveniles consumed. However, the plant food diversity index and the niche breadth index were low for adult females, which indicate that they choose certain types of food. On the other hand, all these three indexes were highest in May and changed from month to month. The diet overlap of the Formosan macaque (Renkonen percentage) was highest between adult males and adult females (85.2%) than between other sex/age groups. Among the five categories of age and sex groups, the diet overlap was 66.68% and 22 species of plants was consumed by all age and sex groups of Formosan macaques.

Abstract This study analyzed the alarm calls of Formosan macaques and their functions from Mt. Longevity. Under the natural condition, 137 five-minute scan sampling and 129 completely 20-minute all occurrence sampling were collected to record behaviors and the alarm calls. In addition, 43 stimulus (predator) tests and 87 playback experiments were successfully conducted from September 2002 to March 2003. Incidents that triggered alarm calls included: the confrontation with dogs, threats from travelers with a cane, slingshots, or stones, encounters with other troops of macaques, passing-by motors or mobile cars, airplanes flying above, and some unrecognizable factors. Under the natural condition, most of the alarm calls produced by Formosan macaques were responds toward dogs (63.46%), with the average frequency of 0.78 times/10hrs. In the predator tests, types of stimulus (dog, human with slingshot, m-snake1 and m-snake2), sex/age classes (adult male, adult female, juvenile, and infant), and the position of macaques (0m, <1m, 1m, and ¡Ù2m) had great influence on the behavioral response of macaques (p<0.01). The response scores were from 3 to 0 (move away more than 5 times body length or climbed to tree, move away up to 5 times body length, visual orientation towards the predator and no apparent response). The average response score of macaques to dogs was the highest one, far above threats from a person with a slingshot, m-snake1 and m-snake 2 (p<0.05). When Formosan macaques confront dogs, the vocal frequency (time/individual) to the alarm call had great influence on sex/age classes of macaques (p<0.01), and the average alarm call frequency was highest from adult males. When human with slingshots and m-snake were predators, majority of the adult males and females adopted run-away (69.91¢M), while very few climbed up trees (8.02¢M) to prevent from any harm caused by predators. However, they ran away (31.52%) or climbed up trees (48.47%) in response to dogs in different proportions. The average response score of macaques, from high to low, was from infant, juvenile, adult female and adult male, and the differences were significant (p<0.05). When Formosan macaques encounter these four types of predators, their alarm calls were quite similar in the spectrographs. The six basic vocal characteristics (maximal, median and minimal fundamental frequency, lowest and peak frequency and duration), analyzed by canonical discriminate analysis, indicated that alarm calls of Formosan macaques confront dogs and human with slingshots could be distinguished from snake models. The four types of predators had significant effects at the median and maximal fundamental frequency of the basic vocal characteristics from adult females and juveniles (p<0.01). But there was no difference in the nine basic vocal characteristics of alarm calls from adult males and infants toward four types of predators. The alarm calls of adult females and juveniles toward dogs in the median and maximal fundamental frequency both were significantly lower than those from m-snake1. In the playback experiments, sex/age classes, types of the alarm calls toward stimulus (dogs, travelers with slingshots, m-snake1 and m-snake 2) and the position of macaques had significant effects on their behavioral responses (p<0.01). The average response score of macaques in playbacks, from high to low, was from infant, juvenile, adult female, and the adult male, and the differences were significant (p<0.05). When the alarm call caused by dogs played back, the average response score of macaques was higher than the alarm calls stimulated by m-snake1 and m-snake 2 (P<0.05). In the playback experiments, when macaques at a higher place (¡Ù2m), they often visually orientated towards the predator or no apparent response whit a lowest response score. The average response scores of the adult males and females toward four types of alarm calls (playback) were higher than the control ones (p<0.05).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [81]-115).