Abstract
Callitrichids are small Neotropical primates and, due to their cooperative breeding system, infants are of particular interest in research on social dynamics. Although a few studies have investigated the role of helpers in this type of system, there is still a lack of research in field studies seeking to determine whether there is a relationship between the number of helpers (adults) in a social group and the motor development of infants. With that in mind, four groups of wild marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) were observed and the motor behaviors of 1 to 4 month-old infants were recorded. To investigate the influence of the adult:infant ratio on motor diversity, used as an indicator of motor development, we ran a GLMM with a Gaussian distribution and found that: (i) in groups with fewer adults, 2-month-old infants show earlier motor diversity; (ii) motor diversity increases with age regardless of the ratio of adult males per infant; (iii) in groups with more adult females per infant, the motor diversity of 2-month-old infants is significantly lower compared to 3-month-old infants. Although adult callitrichid males play an important role in the care of their offspring, the presence of females appears to be a key factor in motor development at this early stage in the study groups. In a cooperative breeding system, the lack of helpers seems to drive the development of independence in infants, resulting in earlier development.
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Acknowledgements
We are very thankful to Bruna M. Bezerra for her assistance in data collection. This study was funded by CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) through a PhD scholarship granted to Nicola Schiel and a master’s scholarship for Alexandre Malta.
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The study was funded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), through a scholarship granted to NS and AM.
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Conception: AS, CC, MFDF, NS; design of the study: CC, MFDF, NS; sampling: NS; data analysis: CC and MFDF; writing of the article: all authors. All authors have read and approved the final version of the article.
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The present research study was conducted in compliance with the guidelines for the ethical treatment of animals in behavioral research and teaching (Animal Behaviour, 2003; v.65; p 249–255), as well as with the ethical principles for the treatment of non-human primates, established by the American Society of Primatologists.
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Malta, A., Caselli, C., Souto, A. et al. Number of adult females in a group affects infant motor development of a cooperative breeding primate (Callithrix jacchus). Primates 63, 683–689 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-022-01016-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-022-01016-x