Saddleback College An Analysis of the Siberut Macaque Anthropology Laboratory

You will have two options: a remote, stay-at-home option OR to visit a zoo (or instructor approved sanctuary). The In-person option is listed here, first. The remote option is towards the bottom. The link below is for both options, so submit accordingly.

In-person Option:

The following zoos/sanctuaries are ONLY acceptable:

Santa Ana Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Gibbon Conservation Center

You are to observe a PRIM

AT

E. If you submit a project observing any other species but a primate, you will receive a 0 score.

NOTE: If you live in another country or another area that has lockdown restrictions which prevent you from visiting a zoo or sanctuary, please message me for a research paper alternative. This also applies if you should feel unsafe attending a public place at this time.

Instructions: There are four main components to your project. Each box outlines what you will need to receive full credit.

Part 1: THIS MUST BE TYPED, 12 pt font.

Date and place you collected your information.

You will select an individual primate for your observation. You must properly cite (USE SCIENTI

FI

C FORMAT!) the species name, family name, and infraorder in which this primate belongs to.

Please identify whether the primate individual you chose is considered threatened, at-risk, endangered, or critically endangered. This information is specific, so be accurate. Then, briefly explain what threatens the pending extinction of this primate and what factors are being done to help ensure their survival (IUCN.ORG is a useful resource, or you can find this in the zoo website or on-site). The placards, in front of the zoo enclosure, will typically state this information.

In the enclosure while you are at the zoo please identify any particularly unusual (make sure you understand what may be unusual—not simply “sitting” or “eating”!) behaviors you may have seen (if none, that is OK).

In the enclosure, did you notice any enrichment items? These items can include bungee cords, burlap sacks, ropes, toys, etc. List each item, in detail by color, size, etc. The purpose is to help stimulate the animal’s mind to reduce boredom and apathy.

Do you think the primates in captivity will generally have different behaviors than those in a natural setting? Please explain why or why not.

While at the zoo either prior to your observation or after, please identify whether or not the zoo you selected has the following (and subsequently state which, if all, are there):

Great ape

Small ape

Old world monkey

New world monkey

Lemur

Loris

Summarize your thoughts about your experience. If you have previously been to a zoo, how was this experience different? Do you think spending time at an enclosure, rather than walking past, allows for you to see the primate in a different light? Why or why not?

NOTE: Zoos are not ideal. I understand you may feel sad about animals in captivity. As someone who has worked in zoos and sanctuaries throughout CA, please trust me when I say this: no keeper WANTS a world where wildlife are enclosed in human created environments. But it is the HUMAN species that created and destroyed a world where wildlife are being decimated regularly from their native habitats. Modern zoos, particularly in the U.S. (that are AZA accredited) must adhere to strict and ethical standards of care. If you feel the need to express your anger or sadness, I encourage you to channel this energy into DOING something for wildlife. You are welcome to send me a Canvas message if you would like ideas or suggestions! “Actions speak louder than words but not nearly as often” -Mark Twain

Part 2: Create an ethogram. An ethogram is your personal dictionary of behaviors, as YOU define each one.

You must have this ethogram created, with 8 total behaviors, prior to your arrival at the zoo. Pick common behaviors that you are likely to see in an enclosure.

Example, below: Use common sense and think of behaviors that you are likely to see from an animal at a zoo (sleeping, resting, eating, defecating, playing, mating, aggression, drinking, pacing). If there are behaviors that you observed that DO NOT fall into your list of definitions, you may create a term/definition while you are at the zoo-but be CAUTIOUS and make sure you are as descriptive as possible. You may use 3 behaviors, codes, and definitions that I have a created, below, but must have 5 behaviors of your own. THIS MUST BE TYPED, 12 pt font.

Ethogram example:

BEHAVIOR

CODE

DEFINITION

Frown

FR

lower eyebrows, furl brow, and turn down corners of mouth while staring

Eating

EA

Taking food from a receptacle, placing into mouth, chewing, and ingesting food

Chase

CH

pursue partner, with one or both animals exhibiting aggression and/or submission (not play)

Fight

FI

grapple aggressively with partner(s), involving biting, clawing, and wrestling

Attack

AT

lunge at or pounce on partner aggressively; may or may not result in fight

Play

PL

two or more animals lunge, grapple, wrestle or chase for at least 1 sec in absence of aggression or intense submission; play face may or may not be present

Resting

RE

Individual leaning body against branch or lying down on branch

Out of sight

OOS

Individual not with view of observer

Part 3: Your time interval sheet.WRITTEN COPY ONLY—DO NOT TYPE.

You are required to select ONE primate from an enclosure and observe him/her for one hour, in two minute intervals. You will need a stopwatch or use your cell phone to record the behaviors every two minutes. An example of the interval sheet is below. On the “live” sheet, you should have your ethogram behaviors noted. It would be a good idea to have at least 8 common behaviors ready and defined so you can write these down. You will need a pencil (preferably), stopwatch (or cellphone stopwatch app), and notebook at the zoo.

See the example, below these boxes.

Part 4: Ticket or receipt from the zoo. You must have the original, so use diligence and caution in NOT losing this ticket or receipt. Not having the original receipt/ticket may result in a loss of 10 points.

Makesure that everyone obtains his or her own receipt!!!! You CANNOT submit your ticket or receipt after you have handed in your documents! Do NOT lose your ticket or receipt!!! You must scan or take a picture of this receipt/ticket, and attach it to your final submission to your project. Not following the instructions by having your own ticket, receipt will result in a point deduction.

Description of

Time

Interval and Ethogram:

Time Interval sheet:

In order for a researcher to be as objective as possible, we must record behaviors as we observe during real time. In order to do this effectively, there are various methods. One such method is a time-interval sheet. This sheet shows no bias, and the behaviors recorded are exactly you observe at the moment the time is noted. For example, since you are required to stay at one enclosure for an hour, you may start your observation at 10:16am. Pencil and paper in hand, you will record the first behavior, from your chosen primate, at

10:18am

. It may look something like this:

Primate

Behavior Observed

Time

Notes

Jane

RE (code for resting, refer to ethogram)

10:18am

Jane was resting next to Katie

JaneRE

10:20am

Katie moved to other side of enclosure, Jane still RE

NOTE: There are vast differences between observation, from a science perspective, and watching. As an observer, you must write down the behaviors as you see each one. This requires you to be detail-oriented. Often times, people tend to interpret behaviors rather than observe behaviors. For example, if you witness a squirrel burying a nut into the ground, you would NOT write “Squirrel burying nut in order to save for later consumption.” That is NOT an observation. Rather, your observation is “Squirrel 302 takes nut, uses upper two limbs, digs 4 inch hole into ground. 302 then takes loose dirt, covers the nut with the dirt. Leaves the area and is no longer within observer sight radius.”

Below is an example of an excel or word table sheet you will need to create prior to visiting the zoo for your observation. You may copy and paste this one, or create your own. An interval sheet, in this format, is required.

Primate (Name)

Behavior Observed (Code)

Time (exact!)

Notes

Remote Primate Project:

5-7 pages, double-spaced typed

Here is what I would like for you to do, in this order:

1. Select one nonhuman primate that is on the “Red List”, as classified by the IUCN:

https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=primates&searchType=species

Links to an external site.

2. Please identify the primate that you chose to observe by providing the common name (ex: gorillas), genus name, and species name in proper nomenclature (refer to chapter 9 in your lab manual!). You must type this in correct nomenclature.2. Please identify whether the primate you chose is considered stable, threatened, at-risk, endangered, or critically endangered. This information is specific, so be accurate. Then, briefly explain what threatens the pending extinction of this primate and what factors are being done to help ensure their survival (

https://www.iucn.org/resources/conservation-toolsLinks to an external site.

(Links to an external site.) is a useful resource, or you may use the zoo’s website!)

Links to an external site.to an external site. You must find articles that discuss that particular primate you observed, and once you do, provide me a 1-2 page summary on the article topic and contents. This is just a summary, not a review of the articles. Please be objective, use professional academic language, and CITE the information you used both in-text and create a works cited/references page. I prefer you use APA format, but for this semester, I will accept MLA as well.

NOTE: all of your work, both in-text (your paragraphs) AND in your References/Works cited page must be cited. Not doing so may result in receiving a “0” for your report and potentially academic consequences.

Although I am not requiring you to specifically discuss certain facts about these individual primates, you should include information such as….

native habitats (continents, countries, etc)

residence patterns (monogamous, polygynous, polyandrous)

aggressive behaviors

reasons why a primate species is endangered (deforestation, bushmeat, etc)

4. What are some fun, unique, and/or important facts you learned about this primate while reading your articles and reviewing the material?