Primate Behaviour Research

Geoff Hosey, who holds the post of Honorary Professor at the university, has continued his research on primate-human interactions and relationships in zoos. This research, which has importance both for animal welfare and conservation, has now begun to identify how exposure to humans affects the behaviour of the animals, and has led to a testable model which will allow us in future to better manage the captive environments of these animals. Projects on the behavioural ecology of lemurs have also continued and Geoff Hosey is also involved in producing a series of research guidelines, under the auspices of BIAZA (the British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria), to help researchers wishing to undertake applied research on captive animals. Primate behaviour research students, working in zoos and in the field in South Africa and Madagascar, have progressed well, with several projects completed in recent years. Their topics included: Social contexts of vocalisations; The development of social competence; and Mate choice preferences in female brown lemurs.

The latest work is examining whether zoo animal welfare is influenced by the relationships that are set up between those animals and particular people such as keepers. Main collaborators in the zoo research are Dr Vicky Melfi (Senior Research Officer at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park) and Dr Lindsay Skyner (now in the Zoo Education Department, Winnipeg Zoo). Future developments will include the running (with colleagues from Paignton Zoo and Edinburgh Zoo) of a workshop on the use of positive reinforcement training to aid veterinary management of zoo primates (as part of the 2008 International Primate Conference), and the publication in 2008 of a definitive text (with colleagues from Anglia Ruskin University and Paignton Zoo) on zoo animal behaviour and welfare.

Why is this Research Worthwhile?

Recent information from the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) suggests that over 700 species of animals have become extinct in the last couple of centuries, and a further 60 have recently become extinct in the wild, but still exist in captivity. It has been estimated that two-thirds of all animal species could be extinct by the end of this century. Zoos represent a an important part of trying to conserve these species and prevent their extinction; zoos manage breeding stocks in a relatively safe environment, but they also raise awareness of conservation issues, increase people's caring about the natural environment by giving them first-hand experience of animals, and fund conservation in the wild. But if we are going to maintain exotic animals in zoos, we need to know if the zoo affects their behaviour, both for welfare reasons (our captive animals must be in the best possible environment for them) and for conservation reasons (we must avoid the animals becoming "domesticated", especially if we intend eventually to reintroduce some of them to the wild).

Are You Interested in Doing Zoo Research?

Research in zoos can be very satisfying. You are likely to be working with species which are endangered, and about which little is known. But research in the zoo setting can present its own methodological and logistical challenges, and before doing anything else you should visit the BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria) website at

www.biaza.org.uk|, where, if you follow the research link you will find a great deal of advice, including free-to-download guidelines on different aspects of zoo research.

Primate Behaviour Publications since 2001

Hosey, G.R., Melfi, V.A. & Pankhurst, S. 2008. Zoo Animals: their Behaviour, Management and Welfare. Oxford University Press. In press.

Hosey, G.R. 2007. A preliminary model of human animal relationships in the zoo. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, in press.

Hosey, G.R. & Skyner, L.J. 2007. Self-injurious behaviour in zoo primates. International Journal of Primatology, in press.

Plowman, A., Hosey, G.R. & Stevenson, M. 2006. Zoo Research Guidelines: surveys and questionnaires. BIAZA, London.

Mitchell, H. & Hosey, G.R. 2005. Zoo Research Guidelines: studies of the effects of human visitors on zoo animal behaviour. BIAZA, London, 15pp

Hosey, G.R. 2005. How does the zoo environment affect the behaviour of captive primates? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90: 107-129.

Melfi, V. & Hosey, G.R. (editors). 2005. Primates in Zoos. Applied Animal Behaviour Science (Special Issue) 90 (2): 93-181.

Skyner, L.J., Amory, J.R. & Hosey, G.R. 2004. The effect of visitors on the self-injurious behaviour of a male pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus). Der Zoologische Garten NF 74: 38-41

Cooper, V.J. & Hosey, G.R. 2003. Sexual dichromatism and female preference in female Eulemur fulvus subspecies. International Journal of Primatology 24: 1177-1188.

Hosey, G.R., Hughes, J. & Bourne, E. 2003. Observations on some rare infant lemurs. Der Zoologische Garten NF 73: 55-58.

Hosey, G.R. 2000. Zoo animals and their human audiences: what is the visitor effect? Animal Welfare 9: 343-357.