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Fission-fusion housing decreases aggression and increases affiliation in zoo-living spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)
Fission-fusion housing decreases aggression and increases affiliation in zoo-living spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)
Darby Proctor, Catherine F. Talbot, and Abigail A. Stevens
Zoos strive to provide environments for their animals where they can engage in species-typical behaviors. For species that live in fission-fusion societies, where the group subdivides and regroups throughout the day, providing appropriate habitats is challenging. Here, we report on an innovative, animal-managed fission-fusion habitat complex for spider monkeys at Brevard Zoo, consisting of three separate habitats interconnected by a series of bridges. The monkeys have access to the entire complex (other than during cleaning) allowing them to form subgroups and regroup without human intervention. To determine the impact of the new housing complex on social behavior, we conducted observations before and after the complex was constructed. As one reason for fissioning is to reduce aggression, we predicted aggression would decrease in the new complex. As predicted, the monkeys were significantly less aggressive in the new complex (M = .01, SD = .03) than in their old habitat (M = .09, SD = .1), one-tailed t(4) = 2.22, p = .045, d = 0.992. They were also significantly more affiliative in the new complex (M = .99, SD = .03; old habitat: M = .81, SD = .07), two-tailed t(4) = -5.92, p = .004, d = -2.65. This suggests that providing spider monkeys with an environment where they can fission and fuse increases their welfare in zoos by decreasing aggression and increasing affiliation.
Zoos strive to provide environments for their animals where they can engage in species-typical behaviors. For species that live in fission-fusion societies, where the group subdivides and regroups throughout the day, providing appropriate habitats is challenging. Here, we report on an innovative, animal-managed fission-fusion habitat complex for spider monkeys at Brevard Zoo, consisting of three separate habitats interconnected by a series of bridges. The monkeys have access to the entire complex (other than during cleaning) allowing them to form subgroups and regroup without human intervention. To determine the impact of the new housing complex on social behavior, we conducted observations before and after the complex was constructed. As one reason for fissioning is to reduce aggression, we predicted aggression would decrease in the new complex. As predicted, the monkeys were significantly less aggressive in the new complex (M = .01, SD = .03) than in their old habitat (M = .09, SD = .1), one-tailed t(4) = 2.22, p = .045, d = 0.992. They were also significantly more affiliative in the new complex (M = .99, SD = .03; old habitat: M = .81, SD = .07), two-tailed t(4) = -5.92, p = .004, d = -2.65. This suggests that providing spider monkeys with an environment where they can fission and fuse increases their welfare in zoos by decreasing aggression and increasing affiliation.
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