Lund University Primate Research Station Furuvik

LUPRSF

LUPRSF is a collaboration (formally since June 2007) between LU and Furuvik Zoo outside of Gävle. It consists of purpose built areas for research by the animal enclosures, equipment for data recording and storing, and a cabin for researcher office space and living quarters. Research is mainly conducted by senior researchers, postdocs and doctoral students, but also student dissertation research on graduate level can be supervised. Master students are welcomed from other universities, as are research collaborations. Both non-invasive psychological experiments and ethological observations are conducted, in various – predominantly externally funded - research projects. The station is also used for excursions on the course Animal Cognition at LU.

The three sub-facilities are the researcher cabin, the chimpanzee facility and the orangutan/gibbon facility. Most equipment can be moved between the three facilities.

The infrastructure works partly on joint research questions with the LU Corvid cognition station, under the umbrella of the Cognitive zoology research group.

Office computers and printer, harddrives, cameras, camcorders, sound recording equipment, touch screen systems, eyetracking system, various interaction interfaces for safe animal contact.

Video uptake of all experimental sessions conducted since the station’s inception. Touch screen logs and recordings of eyetracking data from all sessions conducted. Transcripts/coding of video data, where called for by the research in question, is saved and backuped. All physical notes are saved.

Included in a Scientific Director percentage (10%) is assistance to research or supervision of students external to LU, if time permits. While not a national infrastructure, collaborations are welcomed with all interested parties with feasible questions and protocols.

Managed jointly by a Scientific Director at 10% of fulltime (LU) and an Animal Director (Furuvik zoo), and respective deputies. At the Dept. of Philosophy there is an internal steering committee to be activated when needed.