Secondary sexual coloration and CSF 5-HIAA are correlated in vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus)
BACKGROUND: Identifying indirect markers of the physiology or neuroendocrinology of a primate can provide a powerful tool to scientists. Anecdotal descriptions and recent experimental evidence suggests that the colorful sexual skin in adult male vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) might be sensitive to social changes, including dominance relationships, which could be related to serotonergic activity. […]
Thermal windows on the body surface of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) studied by infrared thermography
In this study, we examined infrared thermograms in the course of time of six African zoo elephants and observed two phenomena. First, we noticed independent thermal windows, highly vascularised skin areas, on the whole elephants’ body and second we observed distinct and sharply delimited hot sections on the elephants’ pinnae. The frequency of thermal windows […]
Decrease in nasal temperature of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in negative emotional state
We established an infrared thermographic system for the detection of emotion-related temperature changes in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We continuously measured temperatures of various facial regions of four rhesus monkeys during the presentation of a potentially ‘threatening’ person, i.e., a person in a laboratory coat with a catching net, who entered the experimental room and […]
Influence of teeth resection on the skin temperature and acute phase response in newborn piglets
Two experiments were carried out to determine the effect of different teeth resection methods on skin temperature, concentrations of the acute phase proteins C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA), and cortisol in piglets. In Experiment 1, piglets from 60 litters were assigned to three treatments where the ‘needle’ teeth were clipped (CLIP), ground […]
Nasal temperature drop in response to a playback of conspecific fights in chimpanzees: A thermo-imaging study
Emotion is one of the central topics in animal studies and is likely to attract attention substantially in the coming years. Recent studies have developed a thermo-imaging technique to measure the facial skin temperature in the studies of emotion in humans and macaques. Here we established the procedures and techniques needed to apply the same […]