Why help? Relationship quality, not strategic grooming predicts infant-care in group-living marmosets

Why Marmosets?

Over the past several years the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) has ascended from an established, albeit niche, model species in neuroscience to one with broad appeal that stands to expand and reshape the scientific landscape. Despite years of pioneering research involving marmosets (Dias et al., 1996; Roberts and Wallis, 2000; Bourne et al., 2002; Bendor and Wang, 2005; Wang et al., 2005;...

Mother-infant separation in squirrel monkeys living in a group.

Two female and three male infant squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were separated from their mothers at a mean age of 169 days. All had been reared from birth in a large communal cage. The experiment consisted of three five-day periods: (1) preseparation baseline, (2) separa­ tion > and (3) reunion. Throughput the experiment, each in­ fant was observed for ten minutes per day. Frequency and d...

Infant abuse runs in families of group-living pigtail macaques.

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to investigate genealogical and demographic influences on maternal abuse and neglect of offspring in pigtail macaques and identify some maternal and infant characteristics that may be risk factors for abuse or neglect. METHOD Infant abuse and neglect were investigated in five large families of group-living pigtail macaques over a period of 33-years (5-7 g...

Growing Up Cooperatively: Family Processes and Infant Care in Marmosets and Tamarins

Parenting patterns range widely among human and nonhuman primates. Rarely do single mothers parent without help. Many female-bonded species have female relatives (grandmothers and aunts) to help with infant care. In other species both parents assist in infant care, or there is cooperative care where several group members work together to rear a single infant or litter. Cooperative care is relat...

Prejudgement towards the quality of spirometry in primary care does not help our case.