SFV Research Essay

A few weeks ago, I spent a lovely Monday afternoon observing two different primates at the Santa Ana Zoo. I got to the zoo around two in the afternoon, and to my surprise, the zoo was decently crowded. The Santa Ana Zoo is smaller in comparison to other zoos like the Los Angeles Zoo, but still had a decent amount of animals there. Covering a small 20 acres of land, I came across two primates that fit perfectly for the purposes of this course project. I chose to observe an endangered ape, the white-handed gibbon, and an endangered new world monkey, the golden-headed lion tamarin.

Within Lynne Isbell’s article The Vervets ' Year of Doom she explains the significant decrease within the vervet, an Old World monkey, population within its natural environment in Amboseli Nation Park, Kenya (Isbell, 1994, p. 128). The piece explains that the diurnal monkey’s prominently live in trees, fever trees to be specific and because of the short life span of the trees there is a strong correlation between the decreasing amount of fever trees and the large decline of

4. Why was a clean bite so important? The muscle tissue is not torn to pieces.

The three sites where hunting has been observed in bonobo populations are Wamba, Lamaki and Lui Kotale. Chimpanzees have been observed more often in hunting prey, and the few cases of hunting in bonobos could be attributed to a lower level of violence found in bonobo populations. At the site of Lui Kotale, in the Salonga national Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo fresh bonobo feces was analyzed on a regular basis to see what the bonobo diet consisted of. The samples are first broken down to find the bigger undigested material, ten run through mesh to pull out anything else.

A Primate’s Memoir is autobiography of Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neuroscience at Stanford University and research associate at the National Museums of Kenya. Robert Sapolsky writes about his research work in Kenya with a single troop of baboons while he was only a mere young adult. He also adds excerpts of his personal engagement and interaction with Masai tribes, with whom he had to compensate and assimilate to live and carry out his fieldwork. The book was not only an account of his research with baboons and stress but his life, work and personal interactions in Kenya and the baboons he closely worked with, which he illustrated with words, giving each baboon a character. The book is divided in four parts where he begins

New technologies and advancement in the area of field research has allowed biologist and primatologist to analyze information more effectively and efficiently. Through the non-invasive collection of fecal samples, researchers are able to extract and analyze DNA to help determine individual attribute, as well as population dynamics. In addition to DNA, fecal samples also contain hormones and parasites that help in determining the overall health of the depositor (Newton-Fisher NE, 2010). Other technologies include the use of Geographic Information Systems allows for mapping the ranges of chimpanzees, and satellite imagery is used to view the

It is believed that the first case of HIV/AIDs was first recorded somewhere in West Africa somewhere in the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, it has spread across central Africa, undetected for a long time. But the question that has bewildered many, is how HIV spread in the first place. According to “Natural Transfer Theory”, HIV was spread to humans through chimpanzees. “Africans have been killing and eating monkey for at least fifty thousand years” (43). It was common for small African communities to hunt and eat chimpanzees. Chimpanzees were said to have “SIVs, simian immunodeficiency viruses that closely resembles HIV” (41). The virus is said to have spread to humans through these infected chimpanzees. The blood of these chimpanzees could have

Primates are one of the most interesting mammals on earth, not only because of their complex social structures, but because they hold so many similar characteristics to humans. Primates are often cited as our closest living relatives and on two separate occasions I observed four separate species of primates at the San Diego Zoo that can justify their use of their physical characteristics and behaviors that may be similar as well as different to the other primates and ours.

Scientists are analyzing an increase of rhesus monkeys in Silver Springs State Park state. It is suspected that monkeys are carrying herpes virus which can cause severe health and security problems for the human health as well as the animals of the park. From a healthcare perspective, it is quite common that certain monkey species might be the career of herpes virus. The infected monkeys might transmit the virus through their saliva and other bodily fluids. Individual visitors to the park are likely to be vulnerable through contact with saliva in macaque bites and scrapes or by contact with viral drop through feces and

I decided to look at the sexual behavior of bonobos because they are known for their frequent sexual behavior. Though they are not one of the types of great apes mentioned in the book, a bonobo is nonetheless a great ape that belongs in the same genus as the common chimpanzee. Furuichi et al. observed bonobos in their naturalistic habitat in Wamba, Democratic Republic

Numerous species of monkey were infected with the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) or Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus (SHIV). The macaques were the primary group of monkeys infected. “Macaques are physiologically and immunologically similar to humans so there is a significant advantage over rodents and other species. The pathogenic SIV infection of macaques can lead to a disease that is called “simian AIDS;” it is similar in many respects to the disease caused by HIV-1 in humans” (Evans and Silvestri). Using the macaques allows different treatments to occur on the experimental level that cannot be conducted in humans. The treatments have provided and continue to provide “essential information to reach a deeper understanding of the biology of HIV infection and AIDS” (Evans and Silvestri). Non-human primates are easier to use than humans do to the ability to control the timing, dose and route of the virus as well as collecting the samples from tissues that are difficult to collect from humans. Macaques can be infected by vaginal or rectal routes or by oral routes. Macaques have been used to test various “microbicides and vaccines for mucosal protection against HIV acquisition” (Evans and Silvestri). By using non-human primate models for studies of AIDS, many results have been

Throughout the semester I have explored many topics in sociology. While exploring these topics, three main theoretical perspectives were used. I will briefly illustrate each of the main theoretical perspectives of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic Interactionism. During this semester I have watched two films, Food Incorporated and The Vernon Johns Story. I will describe how a theoretical perspective is used in each of these examples. Then I will provide my own two examples where concepts and theoretical perspectives can be illustrated. My First example is the Boston Marathon Bombings and the second is the Mass Media’s coverage of the Boston Bombings.

On Friday, March 31, a observation study was conducted at the L.A. Zoo. The time of arrival for the observation was at 11:48 am and the end of the observation was at 2:42 pm. The weather condition at the zoo was very sunny with a mild gust of wind every so often, which is a perfect weather condition to conduct a study. The main reason for conducting this observation study was to study and gather information about the many different types of primate that are located at the zoo. To see how different or similar each primate is to one anotherin different aspects.

Since the first zoo was opened, people have sought out the exotic animals’ captive in them. Primates are one of the most common species found in zoos and sanctuaries because of their resemblance to humans. In the 2000s, people knew little on how to care for and treat primates in zoos and sanctuaries. Later, in the 2010s improvements in care, health, and animal rights have been made to increase the quality of life for captive primates.

Prachand, Sumeet, et al. “Vertebrates: An Alternative to Animal Testing Methods.” International Journal of Pharmacy & Life Sciences, vol. 7, no. 9, Sept. 2016, p. 74.