Husbandry and observation methods of a breeding colony of marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) for behavioural research.

By allowing families to increase in size, co-operation between parents and adolescents in infant care was encouraged. Young adult pairs were subsequently created with these marmosets which had experience of handling infants to provide a stable basis for breeding 2nd and 3rd generation marmosets in captivity.     

Prey size, prey nutrition, and food handling by shrews of different body sizes

We tested some predictions relating metabolic constraints offoraging behavior and prey selection by comparing food handlingand utilization in four sympatric shrew species: Sorex minutus(mean body mass = 3.0 g), S. araneus (8.0 g), Neomys anomalus(10.0 g), and N. fodiens (14.4 g). Live fly larvae, mealwormlarvae, and aquatic arthropods were offered to shrews as smallprey (body mass <0.1 g). Live earthworms, snails, and smallfish were offered as large prey (>0.3 g). The larvae werethe high-nutrition food (>8 kJ/g), and the other prey werethe low-nutrition food (<4 kJ/g). The smallest shrew, S.minutus, utilized (ate + hoarded) <30% of offered food,and the other species utilized >48% of food. The largerthe shrew, the more prey it ate per capita. However, highlyenergetic insect larvae composed 75% of food utilized by S.minutus and only >40% of the food utilized by the other species. Thus, inverse relationships appeared between shrewbody mass and mass-specific food mass utilization and betweenshrew body mass and mass-specific food energy utilization:the largest shrew, N. fodiens, utilized the least food massand the least energy quantity per 1 g of its body mass. Also,the proportion of food hoarded by shrews decreased with increase in size of shrew. With the exception of S. araneus, the sizeof prey hoarded by the shrews was significantly larger thanthe size of prey eaten. Tiny S. minutus hoarded and ate smallerprey items than the other shrews, and large N. fodiens hoardedlarger prey than the other shrews.     

Environmental enrichment for laboratory marmosets

The authors report on using two environmental enrichment devices for marmosets, and suggest the design of five other devices that may be more successful in stimulating foraging or grooming behavior than the devices tested.     

Gum feeder as environmental enrichment for zoo marmosets and tamarins

Tamarins and marmosets are small-bodied social callitrichines. Wild callitrichines feed on exudates, such as sap and gum; particularly, marmosets are mainly gummivores, while tamarins consume gums only occasionally and opportunistically. Zoo marmosets and tamarins are usually provided with gum arabic as an alternative to the exudates normally found in the wild. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a gum feeder on the behavior and well-being of four zoo-managed callitrichines. We studied four cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), four red-handed tamarins (S. midas), two pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea), and three Geoffroy's marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi) housed at Parco Natura Viva (Italy). We conducted the study over two different periods, a baseline (control, without the gum feeder) and then a gum feeder (when the gum feeder was provided) period. We used continuous focal animal sampling to collect behavioral data, including durations of social and individual behaviors. We collected 240 min of observations per period per study subject, with a total of 3,120 min for all the subjects in the same period and of 6,240 min in both periods. We analyzed data by using nonparametric statistical tests. First, we found that the gum feeder promoted species-specific behaviors, such as exploration, and diminished self-directed behaviors, suggesting an enriching effect on tamarin and marmoset behavior. Moreover, in red-handed tamarins, the provision of the gum feeder reduced the performance of self-directed and abnormal behavior, specifically coprophagy. These results confirm that gum feeders are effective foraging enrichment tools for zoo marmosets and tamarins.     

Housing, husbandry and handling of rodents for behavioral experiments

Most animals used in research are rodents, mainly mice because of their predominance in genetics and molecular biology. This article attempts to provide an introduction to mice and rats: health considerations (of the experimenter); choice of species, age, strain and sex; housing and environmental enrichment; and animal identification, handling and dosing. These considerations apply to animal work in general; the rest of the article focuses on the preliminary aspects of behavioral testing, including a protocol for an open field test. This procedure is traditionally associated with activity measurements, and although automated versions are readily available these days, the latter are expensive and may be unavailable in many non-behavioral departments. Moreover, particularly when testing novel genetically modified animals or pharmacological agents, there is no substitute for direct visual observation to detect abnormal signs in the animals: for example, ptosis, piloerection, tremor, ataxia or exophthalmos. The open field test can be adapted in several ways: to assess general behavior and activity (similar to a primary screen in the pharmaceutical industry) or to measure memory (habituation) or anxiety.     

Spontaneous zinc deficiency in marmosets, saguinus mystax.

Moustached marmosets, Saguinus mystax, developed alopecia, skin lesions and general debilitation approximately 6 months after being brought into our laboratory. These lesions resembled the signs of zinc deficiency in pigs, rats and squirrel monkeys. The marmosets were fed a commercial monkey diet containing 150 parts per million zinc and about 100 g of apples and oranges per week. The addition of 40 parts per million zinc to the drinking water brought about improvement in hair coat and skin condition.     

Three basic programs for recording,storing, and handling behavioral data

Behavioral studies using observational methods can be improved by the use of microcomputers. Computers are time-saving tools that enhance quantitative assessment of behavior. This is important in primate behavior studies, which typically are long-term and involve large repertoires of behaviors. The present study describes three BASIC programs developed to record, store, and handle behavioral data. This software was created to allow the collection of a library of unabridged sampling sessions. The data-handling programs were designed so that users can effortlessly extract specific information without disturbing the original recordings. Moreover, the programs can be easily translated to any BASIC dialect, so their use is not limited to a particular machine.     

The establishment of specified-pathogen-free marmosets, Callithrix jacchus.

The establishment of 3 specified-pathogen-free marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) during the period May 1969 to January 1973 is described. A brief history of the conventional breeding colony from which the animals were derived is given and hysterotomy and hand-rearing techniques are described.     

Serum biochemical, hematological and body measurement data for common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus)

Blood samples were drawn and body measurements taken from healthy adult and juvenile common marmosets which had been housed under controlled environmental conditions for a minimum of 2 years. Blood was analyzed for serum biochemical and hematological constituents.     

Infanticide and cannibalism in wild common marmosets

Infanticide has been observed in many different species [1], including common marmosets [2-4], due to sexual selection, reproductive strategies or resource competition [3, 5, 6], which may ultimately lead to exploitation (cannibalism) [1, 7]. Wild callithrichids have a very flexible mating system, including monogamy, polygynandry, polyandry and polygyny [4, 8, 9], with Monteiro da Cruz [10] finding all these patterns within the same population. This results from the high degree of deforestation of their habitat [4], but non-monogamous groups cannot ensure successful rearing of infants, since helpers are crucial and should be present in high numbers [11]. In this study, we show for the first time that cannibalism can follow infanticide, and we hypothesise that it is a result of both competition for scarce resources and the need for animal protein, exacerbated by forest degradation.     

Gelatin as a vehicle for food and vitamin administration to marmosets

For a period of three years, gelatin was used as a vehicle for administration of food, vitamin complex and drugs to laboratory maintained Callithrix penicillata and Callithrix jacchus marmosets and a breeding colony of C. penicillata. In both circumstances, results were satisfactory. The animals survived for long periods of time, with adult, young and juvenile primates in the breeding colony showing good physical condition.     

Autophagy, nutrition and immunology

Turnover of cellular components in lysosomes or autophagy is an essential mechanism for cellular quality control. Added to this cleaning role, autophagy has recently been shown to participate in the dynamic interaction of cells with the surrounding environment by acting as a point of integration of extracellular cues. In this review, we focus on the relationship between autophagy and two types of environmental factors: nutrients and pathogens. We describe their direct effect on autophagy and discuss how the autophagic reaction to these stimuli allows cells to accommodate the requirements of the cellular response to stress, including those specific to the immune responses.     

Age of epiphyseal closure in tamarins and marmosets

Estimates of the chronological age for animals of unknown age provide useful information for medical, demographic, and evolutionary studies. Skeletal development, as indicated by epiphyseal closure, can be used to estimate an animal's chronological age or specify its stage of development. Many studies of Primate skeletal development have used animals of unknown age, with the order of epiphyseal closure providing a relative age for each animal. This study examines the age of epiphyseal closure at 22 epiphyseal sites using animals of known age at death in three calitrichid species (Saguinus fuscicollis, Saguinus oedipus, and Callithrix jacchus). The observed average age of epiphyseal closure is similar in these tamarins and marmosets. There is a significant difference in rate of development between the species. Regression equations can predict the age of unknown animals to within 4.8 months for S. fuscicollis, 8.6 months for S. oedipus, and 7.6 months for C. jacchus (twice the standard error of the estimate). These age estimates allow us to determine if an animal is relatively mature or immature, but are largely unacceptable for studies in which precise age estimates are necessary. The order of epiphyseal closure is similar across 11 monkey species (using additional data from published literature) and supports the suggestion of a general pattern in Primate skeletal development. Am. J. Primatol. 41:129–139, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.