Utility of social network analysis for primate behavioral management and well-being
New management strategies for detecting social instabilities and promoting social cohesion are neededto reduce aggression-based morbidity and mortality among captive groups of rhesus macaques. This studywas conducted to determine the utility of social network analysis for deciphering patterns of aggression andwounding in rhesus macaques. Over 37,000 observations of affiliative, submissive and aggressive activitieswere collected over a 3-year period on ” 1300 rhesus macaques housed in 13.2 ha enclosures. Data also wereanalyzed on management factors such as age/sex composition and matriline configuration that而ghtpromote or reduce aggression in rhesus macaques. Results suggest that social network measures such assubordination degree (social power), displacement fragmentation and groom reciprocity within socialgroups were not only significantly associated with rates of contact aggression and wounding but with theoccurrence of severe aggressive outbreaks, known as cage wars. In addition, groups with a lower proportionof adult females and a more uniform distribution in the number of individuals across matrilines exhibitedhigher social power and lower fragmentation. These data indicate that by manipulating group compositionand matriline configuration of social groups to promote social cohesion and stability, behavioral managersmay be able to reduce the level of aggression and aggression-based morbidity and mortality. These data alsoshow that social network measures are valuable predictors of deleterious aggression and even cage warsindicating that such measures could be used to longitudinally track changes in social dynamics to detectsignificant instabilities, allowing managers to prevent severe outbreaks before they occur in populations ofrhesus macaques and perhaps other non-human primate species.
Aggression Social network analysis Demo Macaque Behavior management Primate well-being
Brenda McCowan Kristen Anderson Allison Heagarty Ashley Cameron
California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United State California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United State
国内会议
2011东莞第二届国际小型猪学术论坛暨大型实验动物生物医药研究应用研讨会
东莞
英文
505-514
2011-11-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）