The influence of feeding routines on the behavior of zoo-housed Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra).

Many species thrive in captivity, yet there is still much to be assessed regarding the often-unknown stressors present that can compromise welfare. Uncovering such stressors is of paramount importance if we are to ensure the zoo environment provides the highest levels of animal welfare that will contribute to species conservation. Zoo-housed primates are subject to many potential stressors, including daily husbandry routines which they may find aversive or habituate to, regardless of their outcome. The specific aim of this study was to assess the behavioral responses to daily husbandry feeding routines on a total of 33 Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra), across two different UK zoological collections. Group scan sampling was used to record behaviors for 30-min periods before feeding (BF), for 30 min after feeding (AF), which we began 30 min after feed provision, and for 30 min when no feeding occurred (NF). The feeding condition significantly influenced behaviors recorded and post-hoc comparisons showed that BF conditions produced significantly higher frequencies of food anticipatory related activity (FAA). Furthermore, during BF periods, behaviors associated with FAA increased during the 15 min closer to a feed. This research finds that temporal feeding events cause changes in the behavior of two independent groups of crested macaques, indicative of food anticipation activity, during 30-min periods leading up to a feed. These results have implications for how animal keeper routines and advertised zoo feeds are managed for this species within zoological collections.

Tissue selenium accretion in premature and full-term human infants and children.

Development of supplementation guidelines for formulated diets and total parenteral nutrition requires knowledge of Se tissue accretion. To this end, the total organ Se content was calculated from the Se concentrations that were measured by neutron activation analysis in postmortem samples of liver (n=56), kidney (n=11), adrenal cortex (n=9), and pancreas (n=6) from infants and children from birth to 10 yr including 17 born prematurely. Hepatic Se concentrations were similar in full-term and premature newborns, decreased from birth to 1 yr, and then increased thereafter. The total hepatic Se content was significantly greater in full-term than in preterm newborns and increased with age and liver size after 1 yr. No significant differences were found between the concentrations of Se in kidney, pancreas, and adrenal tissues. Falling hepatic Se concentrations in the full-term infant concurrent with stable total organ Se content may indicate inadequate dietary intake or may reflect a normal redistribution of the nutrient. Premature infants are born with smaller stores than full-term infants and are at greater risk of developing a deficiency.