SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE MEASUREMENTS ON VERVET MONKEY PELTS

Our study investigates the thermoregulatory properties of vervet monkey pelts in an attempt to determine how these properties are affected by grooming. Ultimately, we intend to examine the spectral reflectance of the velvet monkey pelts, over both the visual and near infrared fields, to determine whether the presence or absence of simulated grooming affects thermoregulatory efficiency. The Photometry and Radiometry laboratory is involved in performing the spectral reflectance measurements of nine vervet monkey pelts. Here, we present preliminary findings of the colour and reflective properties of these nine different pelts, obtained using two different methods: spectrophotometry and spectroradiometry. Using spectrophotometry, we find a marked variation in the reflective properties of the pelts, with the highest reflectance consistently being evidenced in the neo-infrared field at three distinct peaks: 1370nm, 1650nm and 1850nm. The same experiments performed on a spectroradiometer, although performed for a limited wavelength range, confirmed the results obtained with the spectrophotometer. These findings represent stage one of this study. We now intend to analyse the reflective properties of the pelts in both the presence and absence of simulated grooming.