Long-Term Changes and Maintenance of the Pair-Bond in Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus jacchus

Abstract

A total of 12 heterosexual pairs of marmosets were observed at different stages after pairing. Social behaviour (including contact, proximity and grooming) and sexual behaviour (mating and soliciting behaviour) were more frequently observed in recently formed pairs than in pairs that had been housed together for longer periods. Some behaviour patterns were performed more frequently by one sex and in general these sex-related differences were evident irrespective of the length of pairing. The performance of simultaneous piloerection and play appeared to be related to the reproductive state of the female. Males became more responsible for initiating contact during the latter part of the females’ pregnancy. Mating continued at low levels during pregnancy.

How Stranger Encounters of Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus) Are Influenced by Family Members: the Quality of Behavior

“…Little is known so far about marmosets, especially species of the genus Callilhrix, in their natural environment [Hubrecht, 1984a[Hubrecht, , 1985Lacher et al, 1981Lacher et al, , 1984Maier et al, 1982;Rylands, 1981;Stevenson, 1978]. The available naturalistic data are consistent with the more extensive findings on captive groups which have fo cussed primarily on the social dynamics and their underlying behavioral and endocrino logical mechanisms [Abbott, 1984;Abbott and Hearn, 1978;Epple, 1975a;Evans, 1983;Evans and Hodges, 1984;Evans and Poole, 1984;Hearn, 1983;Hubrecht, 1984b;Rothe, 1975;Sutcliffe and Poole, 1984a, b]. All these investigations have shown that in marmoset families two subgroups are of particular in terest, first the parents or the reproductive pair, often referred to as the alpha pair and secondly the mature progeny which fail to show any reproductive activity.…”

“…In addition, sexual behavior may lead to increased attraction to the extra group conspecifics. The observations that sexual behavior is more prominent in newly mated callithrichid pairs than in well-estab lished pairs suggests that it plays an impor tant role in the development of the pair bond [Evans and Poole, 1984;Kleiman, 1977;Stevenson and Poole, 1976;Woodcock, 1982], In general, experimental results dealing with the sexual suppression of the subdomi nant common marmosets are lacking. We have a pretty good idea about the endocrino logical constitution of these individuals, but the controlling mechanisms are still subject to speculation.…”

Hormonal changes related to paternal and alloparental care in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

“…For rodents, stimuli from females, previous social experience, stimuli from neonates, and hormonal changes in response to females influence paternal behavior (Brown, 1993). Among callitrichids, paternal responsiveness is related to affiliative relationship strength within breeding pairs before parturition (Evans and Poole, 1984;Price, 1992;Silva and Sousa, 1997) because cooperation is needed for infant care. Male callitrichids may receive olfactory cues from breeding females during pregnancy or parturition (Cebuella pygmaea: Carlson et al, 1996;C.…”

A Re-Evaluation of the Social Organisation of the Callitrichidae, with Reference to the Ecological Differences between Genera

“…While callitrichid fe males do not exhibit any obvious signs of oestrus, and may copulate throughout the ovarian cycle [70][71][72], an increased inci dence of mating around mid-cycle seems to be the norm [but see 73]. As sexual behav iour seems to be more frequent in newlyformed than in well-established pairs [3,73,74], the patterns observed in these field stud ies might just as reasonably be interpreted as further evidence of pair-bonding behaviour, rather than of a concealed oestrus. On the contrary, the occurrence of mate-guarding [63,67,69], including the formation of short-term consortships in wild S. fuscicollis [9], appears to indicate that males (in addi tion, presumably, to the females themselves) are able to distinguish periods during which ovulation may be taking place.…”