Celebration of Scholars
Activity Budgets of White-Handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar) at the Racine Zoological Society
Name:
Kathryn McKinnon
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Faculty Sponsor: Angela Dassow
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Name:
Katherine Van Dame
Major: Biology
Hometown: Palos Heights, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Angela Dassow
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Abstract
White-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) are primarily monogamous lesser apes that typically disperse to new territories when they reach adulthood. At the Racine Zoological Society, a father and daughter pair have been housed together into adulthood. The purpose of this study was to establish a better understanding of the behavioral dynamics of gibbons in captivity. Between August 2012 - 2013, these gibbons were video-recorded. Thirty-two behavioral activities were coded across four main categories (locomotion, foraging, prosocial, and agonistic). A 1/0 ethogram was used to code for the presence/absence of each behavior using one-minute increments. Activity budgets were tallied and compared for each category. For both gibbons, the most common activity was gripping (19.67% (M), 22.16% (F)). The second most common activity differed between the two gibbons. The male’s activity was hanging (14.57%), whereas the female’s was sitting (18.10%). The third-most common activity also differed between the gibbons. The male’s activity was sitting (13.26%), whereas the female’s was a tie between brachiating and hanging (11.38%).These activities represent 47.5% of the males and 51.64% of the females observed behaviors. These behaviors are congruent with previous research in wild gibbons. Through activity budgets, researchers are able to gain insight into how gibbon pairs behave in captivity. Future research will focus on examining the behaviors of gibbons at other zoos.Submit date: March 21, 2019, 9:07 a.m.