Go for Lipids! Food Preferences and Nutrient Composition in Zoo-Housed White-Faced Sakis, Pithecia pithecia
The role that single nutrients may play for food choices in nonhuman primates is not fully understood. White-faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) are unusual among frugivorous primates as they do not serve as seed dispersers but rather exploit the seeds they consume, presumably for their high contents of lipids and proteins. Therefore, we assessed the occurrence […]
A food for all seasons: Stability of food preferences in gorillas across testing methods and seasons
Decisions about which foods to use during training and enrichment for captive animals may be based on invalid assumptions about individuals’ preferences. It is important to assess the stability of food preferences given that one-time preferences are often used to inform which items are offered over a longer period of time. Presenting preference assessments using […]
Effects of diet on captive black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) food preference
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:23.3.CO;2-Z Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are both habitat and prey specialists that depend on prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for food and utilize prairie dog burrows for refuge. In this study we investigated the effects of captive diet during early development on adult black-footed ferret food preferences. To test the hypothesis that early diet affects […]
Food preferences of grey partridge chicks, Perdix perdix, in relation to size, colour and movement of insect prey
With continually changing arable farming practices, knowledge of the invertebrates in the chick diet of many farmland bird species is important, as it can help in their habitat management and conservation. Although studies have found which groups are represented in the diet, this does not necessarily mean these items are preferred. To gain some understanding […]
Consumer preferences for farm animal welfare: results from a telephone survey of US households
As animal industry and animal advocacy groups debate how farm animals should be treated, little research has focused on the attitudes of consumers in the United States. This study utilises results of a representative telephone survey to measure consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare, and investigates how these attitudes vary across individuals. The survey finds […]
How tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) rank monkey chow in relation to other foods
Captive primates are usually fed on monkey chow, a high-energy food designed to provide a complete and balanced diet for primates. In addition to the nutritional value of a food, its palatability, frequency of presentation in the daily diet and sensory stimulation may also be important for determining whether it is accepted by the animals. […]
Incentive size, food deprivation and food preference
After determining the preferences of rhesus monkeys for 4 foods by a paired-comparison technique, the relative frequency of selection of the most-preferred and the second-least preferred foods were studied when the amounts of each simultaneously presented were systematically varied. Tests were given under 1, 23, and 47 hours of food deprivation. It was found that […]
Responses of White-Faced Capuchins (Cebus capucinus) to Naturalistic and Experimentally Presented Food-Associated Calls
In the context of foraging, many animal species produce specific calls that attract others. Researchers hypothesize that these vocalizations function to inform others about food; however, few studies have investigated whether food-associated calls alone are sufficient to cause individuals to respond as if they have been informed about food. Playback experiments on white-faced capuchins (Cebus […]
Differences in between-reinforcer value modulate the selective-value effect in great apes (Pan troglodytes, P. Paniscus, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii)
We investigated how apes allocated their choices between 2 food options that varied in terms of their quantity and quality. Experiment 1 tested whether subjects preferred an AB option over an A option, where the A item is preferred to the B item (e.g., apple + carrot vs. apple). Additionally, we tested whether the length […]