Pioneering Macaque study centre opens
Marwell Wildlife and the University of Portsmouth have joined forces to open the world’s first cognitive study centre for rare Sulawesi crested macaques.
The animals will be invited to operate computer touch screens allowing scientists to investigate fundamental aspects of their cognition such as memory, communication and emotion.
The centre has been built alongside Marwell Wildlife’s Sulawesi crested macaque island – scientists will work in a glassed area - and is on direct public view. Unlike many other scientific centres, guests to the park will have the opportunity to view the studies whilst they take place.
Scientists from the Uop, Dr. Bridget Waller and Jerome Micheletta are co-ordinating the project and they can be seen conducting the research on site.
A better understanding of primate communication
The animals can make choices using the touch screens and this offers us a direct window into their understanding.
It allows us to ask scientific questions that can’t be addressed by observational studies alone. The macaque studies will give us a better understanding of how the macaques communicate, their perception of the world, their emotions and social relationships.
Just like humans and many other primates, macaques use complex social interactions. Sulawesi crested macaques, native to Indonesia, employ sophisticated and subtle communication tools, relying on many different facial expressions, body positioning and vocalisations to make themselves understood.
Encouraging their natural curiosity
Our macaques live in their social group and can voluntarily enter a specialised area, separate from the researcher. The animals are free to end the sessions whenever they like and return to their daily activities. They receive food treats – tiny amounts of healthy titbits - when they take part in the studies.
This method is an excellent way to study the animals because they are curious about the tasks and keen to participate in activities with the researchers.
Sulawesi crested macaques are critically endangered and we know very little about their behaviour and psychology. Understanding more about their social interactions, from the results of the touch screen work, will allow us to understand how and why, primates, including humans, have evolved such good social skills.
For more information visit the University of Portsmouth's site here
Top picture courtesy of Helen Yates. Other pictures courtesy of Jerome Micheletta and Macaca Nigra Project.