We collect saliva by allowing monkeys to suck on a saliva swab. On the left is the breeding male, on the right is a female.
In early December, one of our PhD students received a grant for important hormone research in macaques, aimed at improving the success of introductions of breeding males into groups of females and their offspring. This grant is awarded to researchers active in the field of animal behavior.
The Dr. J. L. Dobberke Foundation awards the grant annually. The Foundation is named after Dr. J.L. Dobberke, a researcher in animal behavior and is part of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.
Research goal
PhD student Sophie Waasdorp will use the grant to conduct hormone research with rhesus and long-tailed macaques at Bhoused at PRC as part of her doctoral research. The research is crucial because about a quarter of all introductions fail, often accompanied by aggression, injuries, and stress.
Hormones and stress levels
To reduce this percentage and its consequences, we are conducting behavioural studies to investigate the factors involved in the introduction and integration process of a new male. By collecting information on various hormones, we can non-invasively examine the effects of introduction success on stress levels in different individuals. It is possible that some animals experience higher stress levels than others during an introduction. Moreover, we want to study how other hormones that are involved in social behaviour change during the introduction process as this is understudied.
Saliva
For this research, we will collect hormones from saliva, as this allows us to measure short-term effects of specific steps in the introduction process on hormones. We train the (future) breeding male and some adult females in the group through positive reinforcement training. In this method, animals are only rewarded for positive behaviour, such as sucking and chewing on the saliva swabs (see the above photo).
Voluntary
This research is conducted on a voluntary basis, allowing the animals to choose whether they want to participate. With the results from our study, we hope to improve the introductions of males into breeding groups even further in the future.
