Primate cognition in zoos: Reviewing the impact of zoo‐based research over 15 years

Abstract

Primate cognition research is reliant on access to members of the study sp ecies and logistical infrastructures to conduct observations and experiments. Historically founded in research centers and private collections, and spreading to modern zoos, sanctuaries, and the field, primate cognition has been investigated in diverse settings, each with benefits and challenges. In our systematic review of 12 primatology, animal behavior, and animal cognition journals over the last 15 years, we turn a spotlight on zoos to quantify their current impact on the field and to highlight their potential as robust contributors to future work. To put zoo-based research in context, we compare zoos to three other site types: university-owned or independent research centers, sanctuaries, and field sites. We assess the contributions of zoos across several critical considerations in primate cognition research, including number of investigations, species diversity, sample size, research topic diversity, and methodology. We identified 1119 publications reporting studies of primate cognition, almost 25% of which report research conducted in zoos. Across publications, zoobased research has greater species diversity than research centers and covers a diverse range of research topics. Although our review is merely a snapshot of primate cognition research, our findings suggest that zoos may present advantages to researchers regarding species diversity, and lack some of the methodological constraints of field sites, allowing greater ease of access to a diverse range of subjects for cognition investigations. We suggest that zoos have great potential as key contributors for future investigations in primate cognition. Finally, we shed light on the symbiotic relationship that can emerge between researchers and zoos, forming partnerships that bring unique advantages to both parties.

Human interventions in a behavioural experiment for Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

“…More broadly, our results are relevant to any behavioural studies conducted on animals in captivity with human presence. As captive settings such as zoos allow researchers to control for many variables, many behavioural experiments have been conducted with animals in captivity, largely on mammals, particularly on primates (Anderson et al 2008 ; McEwen et al 2022 ), but also on other taxa such as reptiles (Egelkamp and Ross 2019 ). Nevertheless, studying captive animals that are trained to respond to human cues requires careful measures to avoid experimenter bias, the effects of which are expected to vary with species and keeping style.…”

Primatology in zoos: Studying behavior, cognition, and welfare

“…Accordingly, the contributed articles in this special issue also reflect the growing use of technology to help us monitor, evaluate, and enhance primate welfare (e.g., Cairo‐Evans et al, 2022; Hayden et al, 2022; Laméris et al, 2022; Vonk, 2022; Yamanashi et al, 2022). Moreover, technological advances also offer refinements to the ways in which we can study primate behavior and cognition in zoos, via the use of touchscreens (Martin & Shumaker, 2022), eye‐tracking devices (Lewis & Krupenye, 2022), and automated behavioral monitoring systems (Hayden et al, 2022), although “physical” tasks also continue to be used to test zoo primate cognition (Motes‐Rodrigo & Tennie, 2022; Spiezio et al, 2022), as reviewed in McEwen et al ( 2022). These technological approaches offer more nuanced perspectives about the experiences of primates while also allowing for more flexible testing procedures that promote primate welfare (Hopper et al, 2021; Lewis & Krupenye, 2022; Ross et al in press).…”

“…Additionally, while this special issue is centered on zoo-based research, primate sanctuaries, especially those in primate range countries, are also increasingly being recognized as valuable venues for primate research (Ross & Leinwand, 2020) in addition to more traditional research settings, such as field sites and research facilities (McEwen et al, 2022).…”

Apex and ApeTouch: Development of a Portable Touchscreen System and Software for Primates at Zoos

“…Zoos are increasingly becoming primate research hubs [2,3] and computer touchscreen methods are a prevalent method at zoos for studying primate cognition [4]. Touchscreens are intuitive for primates to understand because of the one-to-one mapping of stimuli presentation and the touch response on the screen [5].…”