New methods paper out today in @AmJournalPrimat! Implementing long-term baselines into primate tool-use studies https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.23224
An Office-themed thread 1/9

This short paper describes a new method for investigating the learning mechanisms behind tool-use behaviours in primates 2/9

Baseline conditions involve providing all the materials of a target behaviour to (usually captive) task-naïve subjects, without any demonstrations or training during testing to investigate the learning mechanisms involved in the behaviour 3/9

Whilst these baselines can be powerful, many have criticised them for being too short, and not allowing enough time for subjects to individually develop the target behaviour 4/9

Long-term baselines (described in this paper) provide one possible solution to this issue 5/9

During long-term baselines, the testing materials are left in the subject's enclosure for an extended period. Keepers are then asked not to demonstrate or train the animals in the target behaviour, but to report back to the researchers if they observe the behaviour 6/9

Alongside keeper reports, motion-activated video cameras can be installed in the enclosures to record all interactions with the testing apparatus 7/9

The length of the long-term baseline will depend on various factors, but the pilot of the method consisted of a 24 month long-term baseline, substantially longer than all classic baselines 8/9

Long‐term baselines therefore provide extended enrichment opportunities for the animals, alongside insight on the individual and social learning abilities of primates that might otherwise be lost in shorter baselines 9/9