Using Infrared Technology to Examine Arousal in Brown Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] apella)

Abstract

From a well-being standpoint, having a reliable measure of emotion is important for species in captivity for the purpose of determining animal welfare. This holds especially true as habitat destruction is increasing, and there are more animals being held in captivity as a result. From a research standpoint, having a reliable measure of arousal can be particularly useful when performing certain experiments that require subjective experiences and quantifiable behaviors. Infrared Thermography (IRT) is a technology that could possibly aid scientists interested in studying emotions and arousal in animals mainly due to its advantage of non-invasiveness, and there is a growing amount of evidence supporting its validity.

Although multiple monkey taxa have been studied using IRT technology, there has been little to no research on brown tufted capuchins, Sapajus [Cebus] apella, thus far. Examining capuchin monkeys with IRT could help to further demonstrate the technology’s validity among all non-human primate (NHP) species. For Sapajus [Cebus] apella research specifically, having a reliable means of quantifying emotional states non-invasively could be valuable for future studies. Many experiments performed in this field currently depend on subjective behavioral cues to measure emotion and well-being. Having a valid and possibly automated tool like IRT to measure emotion could eliminate these potential errors and biases. In addition, IRT may be a useful tool when examining Sapajus [Cebus] apella welfare in captivity, and demonstrating this technology’s validity would allow for an improved measure of well-being for this species.

In this study, a procedure was created and performed in order to investigate the relationship between arousal and nasal temperature in capuchin monkeys.