EnPrim · The Enriched Primate

The Enriched Primate

What is the problem being addressed? With almost 60% of primate species currently classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), primate conservation is now of primary importance. Among captive animals, zoo populations are unique as they are usually managed to educate the public regarding wildlife and their habitats. The maintenance of the genetic diversity of such captive populations is imperative because these populations may serve as buffers against extinction and thus need to be viable for reintroduction into the wild. To maintain healthy populations zoos apply numerous husbandry and environmental enrichment techniques, including sensory enrichments. However, most scent-based enrichments still use spices or essential oils rather than biologically relevant scents. Why is it important for society? Non-human primates are of vital importance to tropical biodiversity and the livelihoods and cultures of several indigenous societies. With many species rapidly declining, the issues of primate conservation are of growing interest worldwide, moving political and economic forces. In this context, zoos play a major role as they can help to preserve endangered species through captive breeding and reintroduction programmes (aligned with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target 15.5, which uses the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species to assess the risk of biodiversity extinction). This Action therefore contributed to tackling important societal issues, providing promising findings to enhance the European captive conservation breeding programme of an endangered primate species by using chemical communication to improve well-being and trigger sexual behaviours. Specifically, this project focused on the gentle lemur (Hapalemur alaotrensis), one of the world’s 25 most endangered primates, which is not only critically endangered in the wild but also showing low reproductive success in captivity. What are the overall objectives? The specifics objectives of this Action were: (a) to conduct the first detailed chemical analyses of anogenital secretions in female gentle lemurs during fertile and non-fertile periods and thus identify the chemical signature conveying information about sexual receptivity and fertility; (b) to reproduce the female fertile odour signature and present this synthetized chemical mixture to male conspecifics to test whether it triggers olfactory, sexual and mating behaviours; and (c) to evaluate the effects of such novel scent enrichment by combining behavioural observations, faecal hormone measurements and microbiota analyses, thus deepening our understanding of the complex mechanisms linking reproduction, stress, and health conditions in captive lemurs.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union