Reproduction in captive lion tamarins (Leontopithecus): Seasonality, infant survival, and sex ratios

Abstract

Diversity in reproductive and social systems characterizes the primate family Callitrichidae. This paper contributes to our appreciation of this diversity by presenting the first detailed comparative analysis of captive breeding in three species of lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas, L. chrysopygus, and L. rosalia) housed at the Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro. The annual pattern of reproduction in all three species of Leontopithecus was markedly seasonal, with births occurring during the spring, summer, and fall months from August through March. While modal number of litters produced per female per year was 1, approximately 20% of breeding females produced two litters per year. The onset of breeding activity in years when two litters are produced was significantly earlier than in years when only one litter was produced. The cumulative number of offspring surviving to 3 months of age did not differ between years with one vs. two breeding attempts. Like other callitrichids, postnatal mortality was highest during the first week of life, and there were pronounced species differences in offspring survival through 1 year, with significantly lower survivorship in L. chrysomelas. Infant survivorship was affected by a number of experiential factors. Survivorship up to 30 days of life was higher in groups in which the breeding female had previous experience with infants as a nonbreeding helper than in groups in which the female lacked previous helping experience. Likewise, survivorship to 30 days of life was higher for infants born to multiparous females than for infants born to primiparous females. When parity and previous helping experience were analyzed concurrently, the lowest survivorship was associated with offspring produced by inexperienced primiparous females. Genus‐wide, there was no significant departure from a 50:50 sex ratio at any point during the first year of life, nor was there evidence for differential mortality for male and female infants. However, L. chrysopygus produced significantly more male infants at birth (65:44) and had male‐biased litters (approximately 60% males) throughout the first year of life, while L. chrysomelas showed a nonsignificant tendency toward female‐biased litters. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Characteristics of reproductive biology and proximate factors regulating seasonal breeding in captive golden‐headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas)

“…Moreover, there is a clear birth peak in September and October in Brazil, for both captiveand wild-born females. French et al [1996] also reported a clear birth peak in September and October for golden, golden-headed, and black lion tamarins housed at Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro (also included in this study); however, they did not differentiate between captive-and wild-born females. Kleiman et al [1982] noted seasonal breeding in captive L. rosalia, housed in the Northern hemisphere, with births being concentrated in March-September.…”

“…All group members provide infant care. Seasonality of breeding has been described for both wild [e.g., Goldizen et al, 1988;Stevenson & Rylands, 1988;Soini, 1988;Dietz et al, 1994] and captive [e.g., Brand, 1980;French et al, 1996;Sousa et al, 1999] populations of callitrichids.…”

“…Such analyses have already been presented for golden lion tamarins (L. rosalia) [Kleiman, 1977;Kleiman et al, 1982]. French et al [1996] provided an overview of reproductive performance in the genus Leontopithecus, and compared L. chrysomelas, L. rosalia, and L. chrysopygus, using data from the Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro (CPRJ). They examined seasonality of breeding in a captive population in which proximate factors (e.g., temperature, rainfall, and photoperiod) that can affect seasonal breeding were similar for all of the animals (the CPRJ lies within the original distribution area of L. rosalia, but not those of L. chrysomelas and L. chrysopygus).…”

Different Sex Allocations in Two Related Species: The Case of the Extant Hippopotamus

“…Empirical studies support the view that the birth sex ratio at a population level is usually close to 1:1 (Ml ıkovsk y 1988;Bent & Reason 1998;Faust & Thompson 2000;Visscher et al 2004;Roche et al 2006;Nov akov a et al 2010). Nevertheless, numerous other studies report significant deviations from an equal sex ratio for individual parents (Clutton-Brock & Iason 1986;French et al 1996;Landete-Castillejos et al 2001;Cameron & Linklater 2007;Du sek et al 2011). However, many studies reporting variance in birth sex ratio suffered from the use of positive selective evidence (Clutton-Brock & Iason 1986;Festa-Bianchet 1996;Cockburn et al 2002;Krackow 2002).…”

Captive Breeding, Zoos, and Good Sense

“…The captive population of the golden lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus rosalia ) was on the brink of extinction in the 1970s, but, following a new husbandry protocol, it began to breed well in captivity, establishing a self-sustaining population and supplying individuals for a successful re-stocking program in the Poço dos Antas Reserve (Kleiman et al 1991). Two other species, Leontopithecus chrysomelas and L. chrysopygus , are now breeding well in a number of zoos throughout the world (French et al 1996). In fact, one of the major problems of many current zoo captive breeding programs is the control of population growth (e.g., van Elsacker et al 1994).…”