Changes in Primate Behavior: Captivity versus Natural Habitat

This topic submitted by Katy Workman and Michelle Brasseur ( brassemr@muohio.edu ) on 2/18/05. [ Human Nature Team: Katy Workman and Michelle Brasseur-Section: Cummins/Wolfe]

Katy Workman
Michelle Brasseur
Human Nature
Sophomore Project Proposal
February 17, 2005

Introduction
Our study will be focused on observation of the behavior of primates and how that behavior is affected by human involvement (especially in captivity) over time and across generations. We believe that vast differences between wild primates and those in captivity will show that human involvement may lead to a significant change among the primate species as a whole. Our project will be conducted by combining previous academic research with our own personal observations, hopefully providing results that will support our hypothesis.
By questioning the results of human involvement with primates, we aim to address issues of human nature concerning nature versus nurture, the human connection to nature, and the benefit of "civilized" society. Through our studies, key themes of nature versus nurture, as they are commonly observed in humans, will be reflected in our observations of the primates. Aspects, such as language and war, that are believed to be innate in humans, could also be learned behaviors that have been carried on from generation to generation. Due to limited resources we will not be able to focus on language and war among primates, but we will other behaviors that are passed on through generation. The recent acceptance of human connection to nature has also involved human connection to primate relatives. However, this has led to instilling of human behavior in primates, behaviors such as using technology, learning sign language, and creating art. These are all benefits of "civilized" society, another fundamental issue of human nature. By exposing primates to these components of human society we could be unintentionally altering their nature.
The ties between human and primate behavior development may be broadly connected to our class "The Nature of Human Nature" as a whole, but we see the most relevant connections between our project and the articles we have read by Jane Goodall, "The Mind of a Chimpanzee," "Sex," and "War." GoodallÕs perspective on chimpanzees and her personification of their behavior provides us with a stable point of reference for our observations. E.O. WilsonÕs "Man: From Sociobiology to Sociology" takes a step back and traces evolution from the earliest primate to modern humans. We can draw on WilsonÕs illustration of this connection to understand the ties between our own observations and essential human nature.
Literature Review
Book and Journal References

"Animals Exhibited: The Zoo." Animals in human histories: the mirror of nature and culture. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2002.
This overview of science, society, and animal nature at the zoo assists our understanding of habitat construction and provides us with clues as to the behavioral adaptations of the animals.

Blom, Allard, et. al. "Behavioral Responses of Gorillas to Habituation in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic." International Journal of Primatology. Vol. 25, Issue 1. 2004: 179-196.
This is a specific study on behavioral responses of gorillas, and even though we are not sure yet which species of primate we will be studying, this article will be useful reference and comparative information.

Fleagle, John G. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. San Diego : Academic Press, 1999.
There are several sections in this book that are pertinent to our study. "Adaptation, Evolution, and Systematics," "Apes and Humans," "Primate Adaptation," and "Patterns in Primate Evolution," all contain relevant subject matter that will be constructive in our research.

Goodall, Jane. "Bridging the Gap." Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
This section of Jane GoodallÕs book is devoted to the similarities in chimpanzee and human behavior, sensibilities and emotions. By applying principles from this section, we will be able to illustrate and map out the connections from the primate behavior we observe and the human behavior we recognize.

"How Primates Have Been Domesticated and Used." Monkeyshines & the Primates: The Study of Primatology 2001: 2.
This article specifically addresses the domestication of "wild" species through selective breeding and genetic alteration. Though the article focuses on drug and chemical testing and captive breeding programs, it still supplies information on domestic vs. "wild" animals.

"How Zoos Are Designed And Operated." Monkeyshines & the Primates: The Study of
Primatology 2001: 3.
This source illustrates the considerations that zoos must take into account when they introduce an animal into its new zoo environment. The environment influences the behavior of the animals, so it must appear as natural as possible in order for primate behavior to remain as normal as possible. Zoo staff members prepare a false environment that contains the necessary building materials for nests, proper nutrition, and a natural looking environment. Despite the attempt at an authentic habitat, the environment is created, and the primatesÕ behaviors will be automatically modified.

Jolly, Alison. The Evolution of Primate Behavior. New York : Macmillan, 1985.
The evolution of primate behavior is the object of our research.

Lieberman, Daniel. "Humans and primates: New model organisms for evolutionary developmental biology?" Journal of Experimental Zoology Vol. 302B, Issue 3. 2004:
195-195.
Evolutionary developmental biology applies to both human and primate behaviors. Some observations of primate behavior will be classified as evolutionary development, and some of it will even be able to be related back to humans.

Oxnard, Charles E. "Brain Evolution: Mammals, Primates, Chimpanzees, and Humans." International Journal of Primatology Vol. 25, Issue 5. 2004: 1127-1158.
This journal article provides evidence based on modern studies of the brain, that humans and chimpanzees are actually very different from one another where matters of the brain are concerned. This literature makes an interesting contribution to our study, because it explores the differences between the human brain and the chimpanzee brain, as well as the evolution of both.

"Primate Habitat and Behavior." Monkeyshines & the Primates: The Study of
Primatology 2001: 3.
Primates occupy a wide range of habitats, and exhibit many qualities of social behavior, which enable them to adapt to their environment. This source is valuable to our research because it explores the complex social relationships of primates and their varying habitats.

Williams, Jean Balch. Field study techniques for nonhuman primates : a bibliography. Seattle: Primate Information Center, Regional Primate Research Center, University of Washington, 1991.
This section is very important to our research, because in order to compare and contrast our domestic primates to those in the "wild", we must first know a little about how to study and make authentic observations.

Wright, Patricia C. "Book Review: Primates Face to Face. The Conservation Implications of Human-Nonhuman Primate Interconnections." International Journal of Primatology Vol. 25, Issue 4. 2004: 971-973.
One of the questions that we are asking in our study is about not only the biological connections between humans and non-human primates, but also about behavioral connections between the two species. This article will give us information about the ties between humans and primates, and the key to their interactions.

Website References

Heyes, C.M. "Theory of Mind in Nonhuman Primates." N.pag. On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 2005. Available WWW: http://www.bio.unibuc.ro/~mbota/bbs.heyes.html.
This site will help give us some ideas about the thought processes and their relation to behavior among nonhuman primates. That will help us to dissect our observations and determine whether they are good signs of behavioral adaptation.

Jacobs, James Q. "A Comparison of Some Similar Chimpanzee and Human Behaviors." Paleoanthropology in the 1990Õs. n.pag. On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 2005. Available WWW: http://www.jqjacobs.net/anthro/paleo/primates.html

Kosseff, Lauren. "Primate Use of Language." N.pag. On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 2005. Available WWW: http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/language.htm.
Kosseff explores our specific examples of sign language and communication. She actually quotes Steven Pinker on the evolutionary split between humans and apes.

"Lecture 4 Primate Behavior." 9 pp. On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 2005. Available WWW: www.leeds.ac.uk/bms/teaching/modules/humb1060/anth04.pdf.
This is another study on primates that demonstrates good observation methods to emply when we perform our studies. The author lists specific quantitative results as well which will be helpful in formulating our own personal methods.

Sellers, Dr. Bill. "Primate Behaviour." N.pag. On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 2005. Available WWW: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/chb/lectures/anthl_11.html.
Dr. Bill Sellers presents this lecture on primate behavior. He discusses the importance of primate studies, primate behavioural ecology, and primate cognitive abilities, all things that we will appreciate having an understanding of before we conduct our research.

Interdisciplinary Approach
Our project will utilize primarily a biological perspective, including classification of primate behaviors, and relation to natural and man-made habitats. We are also focusing on the staple theories surrounding human evolution, direct observation of the primates from whom we are believed to have evolved. Some of the observations and conclusions we make following our research will include a sociological (and even anthropological) view, including how our findings may lead to conclusions about the nature, relationships, behaviors, and benefits of human culture. While "at the end of the day" our perspective will be primarily biological, it is important that effects of "civilized" society on our speciesÕ adaptations be taken into account.

Research Design / Materials and Methods
The research plan for our project will involve detailed research of studies performed by scientific scholars, combined with multiple periods of observation performed by our group on primates at the Cincinnati zoo. The many behaviors that are categorized and quantified by professional scientists, along with their findings, will be compared in our final conclusions to the behaviors we observe from the primates at the zoo.
Our method will be to design our own system of behavior classification, based on a preliminary visit to the zoo, and the initial observations we gather. Behaviors that are deemed peculiar, or of particular interest to the issues of human nature on which we will be focusing, and those that are noted most often by our data and in the reports we have found, will then be analyzed for what aspects of our hypothesis that they might support or disprove.
The benefit of our system is not only a unified and unambiguous classification of behavior, but that both members of our group will be able to make observations in separate areas of the zoo simultaneously, once the system has been designed based on the preliminary visit. This is of course subject to the zooÕs cooperation and the size of the primate population. For similar reasons, a timeline of observation dates is unavailable at this time.

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