Use of animal-operated folding perches by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

Providing captive or laboratory animals with the best possible living conditions has led to many ideas about how caging environments can be enhanced and the animals' lives can be enriched. This study focused primarily on 2 issues: more efficient use of existing caging and providing animals with a measure of control over their environments. We designed a new springloaded folding perching apparatus that, when modified for size, could be added to almost any caging system.

Growth and developmental outcomes of three high-risk infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

Infants classified as "high risk" are born with a greater chance of developing medical complications at birth, and may have cognitive and other developmental complications later in life. Very few reports exist regarding the survival and outcome of such infants in primate colonies. Here we present early growth and developmental data on three high-risk infant rhesus macaques (one female and two males) that were born either with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; born below the 1st birth weight percentile for gestational age) or extremely prematurely (at gestational days 128 and 140; mean full-term gestation=164 days).

Neonatal behavior and infant cognitive development in rhesus macaques produced by assisted reproductive technologies.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) used in fertility clinics include in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), followed by embryo transfer into the biological or a surrogate mother. Over 1,000,000 liveborn offspring--an estimated 1 in 150 United States newborns--have been produced worldwide by ART since 1978. IVF appears to produce healthy children in singleton pregnancies, though concerns remain regarding preterm deliveries, multiple pregnancies, as well as the longer-term consequences of all ART procedures.

Trisomy 16 in a pigtailed macaque (M. nemestrina) with multiple anomalies and developmental delays.

A female pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) with unusual physical characteristics, deficits in learning and cognitive tasks, abnormal social behavior, and abnormal reflexes and motor control was followed from birth until 3 years of age and found to have trisomy 16, which is homologous to trisomy 13 in humans. The animal described here showed similar features to cases of trisomy 16 and 18 (human trisomy 13 and 18, respectively) reported previously in nonhuman primates. However, both significant differences and similarities were found when compared with the homologous human trisomy.

Survival, growth, health, and reproduction following nursery rearing compared with mother rearing in pigtailed monkeys (Macaca nemestrina).

Nursery-reared primates do not experience psychological "maternal bonding" or immunological benefits of breast milk, so they are expected to be inferior to mother-raised monkeys in growth, health, survival, reproduction, and maternal abilities. Studies of nursery-reared monkeys support aspects of this prediction for infants deprived of social contact or raised in pairs. We present colony record data on 1,187 mother and 506 nursery-raised monkeys, 2-10 yr of age, living in mixed groups.

Weaning, body weight, and postpartum amenorrhea duration in pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Early permanent infant separation or weaning decreases the time interval between pregnancies and interbirth intervals for many female primates. At least part of the interpregnancy interval consists of postpartum amenorrhea, a period of non-menstruation lasting from the time of birth until the female begins to ovulate. This study investigated the effects of weaning age and dam's body weight on the duration of the interval between pregnancies, the duration of postpartum amenorrhea, and the number of cycles to conception in a year-round breeder.

Fetal, infant, and maternal toxicity of zidovudine (azidothymidine) administered throughout pregnancy in Macaca nemestrina.

The toxicity of azidothymidine (AZT) was studied in monkey dams and fetuses that were exposed to the drug over the entire gestational period. Fourteen virus-free female macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were randomly assigned to AZT or control groups. AZT animals received the drug through a gastric catheter at a dose of 1.

Assessment of fetal and placental blood flow in primates using contrast enhanced ultrasonography.

Ultrasonographic contrast agents that stay within the vascular space and do not cross the placenta may permit differentiation between the maternal and fetal portions of the placenta and may be clinically useful for diagnosis of placental abnormalities. This study was performed to assess the effects of Levovist (Schering AG, Berlin) on the placental circulation and to determine whether hemodynamic effects on the fetus occur. Ten studies were performed in five pregnant macaques (median weight, 9.

Reproduction and sera embryotoxicity after immunization of monkeys with the laminin peptides YIGSR, RGD, and IKVAV.

Monkeys with excellent reproductive histories were immunized with the laminin peptides YIGSR, RGD, IKVAV, and YD, a control sequence with no known biological function. Sera from the YIGSR-immunized monkey became toxic, causing neural tube defects in whole rat embryo cultures, and this monkey experienced fetal loss after immunization. Sera from the RGD-immunized monkey also became embryotoxic in culture after immunization, but this monkey appeared to become infertile as she failed to initiate a pregnancy for at least 2 years after immunization.

Fetal toxicity of zidovudine (azidothymidine) in Macaca nemestrina: preliminary observations.

The objective of this study was to determine the dam, fetal, and infant toxicity of zidovudine (AZT) administered to pigtailed macaques during pregnancy. Pregnant macaques were administered AZT (1.5 mg/kg/dose every 4 h) or water via gastric catheter throughout pregnancy.

Growth of nursery-raised Macaca nemestrina infants: Effects of feeding schedules, sex, and birth weight.

Ponderal growth, caloric intake, growth velocity, and growth efficiency were studied from birth through 90 days in 523 nursery-raised pigtailed macaque infants. The male and female subjects ranged in birth weight from the 1st through 100th centiles of the colony distribution and were all judged to be clinically healthy. One group of infants was fed on an ad lib schedule, with formula continuously available from dispensers which were replenished every 8 h.

Rearing infant monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) in pairs produces deficient social development compared with rearing in single cages.

Many scientists and colony managers assume that social housing is a beneficial living condition for all captive primates. Several older studies of primate development question the generality of this assumption. We recently tested this assumption by comparing the social development of pigtailed macaque infants raised in pairs and those that were raised in individual cages.

Mosaic variegated trisomy (42,XY/43,XY, + variable) in a male pigtail macaque monkey.

We identified an infant male pigtail macaque monkey with a bizarre karyotype which, to the best of our knowledge, has never before been reported in any species. Examination of 107 nuclei from cultured lymphocytes revealed 81 (75.7%) to be trisomic, but with the supernumerary chromosome varying from cell to cell, trisomy 16 being the most common.

Pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) with trisomy X manifest physical and mental retardation.

Three pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) from a nursery population were predicted to be genetically abnormal based on observations of anatomical and behavioral development. All three exhibited delays in skeletal, visual, intellectual, and social development, suggesting a chromosomal syndrome. Karyotypes showed that two animals were XXX females, and the third was a mosaic XX/XXX female.

Perinatal hypothermia and maternal temperature declines during labor in pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Body temperature, respiration, and heart rate were recorded for 90 perinatal pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) within the first hour after birth. Hypothermia and corresponding depressed respiration and heart rate were evident in all animals. Regression analysis revealed that time-since-birth accounted for most of the observed variance in all measures.