Week 2 = reliabilty
I am falling behind since I had hoped to post an entry a week about the goings on at CHCI, so let’s see if I can catch myself up by this weekend.
Week 2 (last week) was largely reliability testing. We have two different types of behavioral data to collect this summer: recording social interactions for a hierarchy study and viewing video to document behavioral contexts that occur for possible use in future studies. For the hierarchy study, we will observe the chimps live and use the social interactions to determine the current dominance hierarchy. Since Washoe’s death in 2007, there has been no clear leader established in the group. They looked at dominance last summer, but there did not appear to be any clear rankings, so we are re-examining it again this summer to look for any changes. For the context coding, we will watch video and make note of any behaviors that occur (not just social ones).
Before we begin collecting actual data for either of the observations, we have to pass reliability tests. This means watching prepared videos and recording the behaviors we see. For both hierarchy and context coding, we must score an 85% or better on two tests. I spent much of last week taking hierarchy tests…and failing them. However, we are expected to fail the first one as it takes time to learn the difference between behaviors and pick up on the often subtle behavioral cues. By the end of the week, I had taken 5 hierarchy tests. In tests 2 and 3, I passed two out of the three columns: behavior and initiator. But I still needed to pass the third column, recipient, twice. I took test number 4 and passed all three columns and took test number 5 on Friday, hoping it would be my last one so that I could begin the live observation tests (again, must pass two). The results are in and will be revealed in the next entry (or on facebook if you want to know now).
I also took my first context coding reliability test at the end of the week. Context coding is easier in some respects, largely because you don’t have to note the start and stop times of each behavior/interaction, just what behaviors occurred within any given minute. The tricky thing about the two types of data collection is that they have two entirely different criteria. The same behavior is often interpreted differently between the two studies. For example, for context coding, displacement is when one individual moves from a location and a second individual takes their exact spot. In hierarchy observations however, this is a little more flexible and as long as one individual occupies the spot where the other one was for a moment, even if they are just passing through, it is considered displacement. Even the shorthand for behavioral contexts varies between studies.
Besides the daily cleaning and care routine, I think that’s pretty much it from week 2, although a couple things did happen over the weekend. I signed up for a double shift on Saturday and worked noon to close (~6pm). Weekends are nice because there are not many people on staff so you often get more berm shifts, which means more time to observe the chimps. So I had a busy, but pleasant day of chimp care on Saturday. This completes my weekend husbandry shifts until tThe interesting news is from Sunday (which I actually learned about on Monday, but I will include it here). I am not sure of the details, but someone breached the berm fence and stuck their fingers in the enclosure! No one, not even the highest level chimp care people are allowed to put their fingers in the enclosure! Apparently, 3 boys (college age) were trespassing and one of them hopped the fence. Tatu came rushing over and charged him, but he got his fingers out and jumped back in time to avoid any direct contact with her. Two of the boys were caught and charged with trespassing, but the one who actually jumped the fence ran off and they apparently have not tracked him down. This is the closest anyone has come to being harmed by one of the chimps. The berm is a buffer between the outdoor enclosure and the outside and serves two main functions. It allows the chimps to have some privacy while still being able to observe their surroundings and (most importantly) it keeps people and chimps safe by avoiding dangerous interactions. If a person trespasses and is harmed by a chimp, the chimps are the ones that face the worst punishment, as they would likely be further confined (or possibly worse). The incident really served to alert everyone to how important it is to be aware and on guard while on berm duty. Although it is a time to observe the chimps and record some data about them, it is more important to make sure that no one is somewhere they should not be.
That’s it for week 2. Expect week 3 soon.