In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the number of audience members in proximity to the players, and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions that I observed, immature macaques utilized multiple body and facial play signals in various constructs. These data show that immature Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and play signals to sustain play in a tourism site.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (<em>Macaca thibetana</em>) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the number of audience members in proximity to the players, and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions that I observed, immature macaques utilized multiple body and facial play signals in various constructs. These data show that immature Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and play signals to sustain play in a tourism site.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wright, Kaitlin R."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Primate Behavior","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lori K Sheeran","Jessica A. Mayhew","Lixing Sun"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:36:48Z","subjects":["juvenile","primate","tourist impact","play behavior","Biological and Physical Anthropology","Cognitive Psychology","Zoology"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/398","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lori K Sheeran","Jessica A. Mayhew","Lixing Sun"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wright, Kaitlin R."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-06-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Primate Behavior"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["juvenile","primate","tourist impact","play behavior","Biological and Physical Anthropology","Cognitive Psychology","Zoology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/398"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the number of audience members in proximity to the players, and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions that I observed, immature macaques utilized multiple body and facial play signals in various constructs. These data show that immature Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and play signals to sustain play in a tourism site.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Play in Immature Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana): Location, Use of Play Signals, and Play Bout Termination at Mt. Huangshan, China"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lori K Sheeran","Jessica A. Mayhew","Lixing Sun"],"dc:creator":["Wright, Kaitlin R."],"dc:date.available":["2016-06-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the number of audience members in proximity to the players, and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions that I observed, immature macaques utilized multiple body and facial play signals in various constructs. These data show that immature Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and play signals to sustain play in a tourism site.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/398"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["juvenile","primate","tourist impact","play behavior","Biological and Physical Anthropology","Cognitive Psychology","Zoology"],"dc:title":["Play in Immature Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana): Location, Use of Play Signals, and Play Bout Termination at Mt. Huangshan, China"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Primate Behavior"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:36:48Z"}