Should I call or should I hold? Factors affecting food-associated calls in wild Callithrix jacchus
Food-associated calls are widespread among primates. Its main function is to attract conspecifics to food sources, and callers may benefit from an increase in their inclusive fitness and by diluting predation risks. Conversely, food calls may increase competition over resources. In cooperative br...
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| Formato: | Dissertação |
| Idioma: | pt_BR |
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Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
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| Endereço do item: | https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/33003 |
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| Resumo: | Food-associated calls are widespread among primates. Its main function is to attract
conspecifics to food sources, and callers may benefit from an increase in their inclusive fitness
and by diluting predation risks. Conversely, food calls may increase competition over resources.
In cooperative breeders, these calls may indicate their high proactivity in sharing resources with
other group members, especially when infant care is necessary. In the absence of infants,
individuals possibly adopt compensatory strategies to offset infant care costs and increase
energy intake. We aimed at investigating Callithrix jacchus vocal behavior in feeding contexts,
jointly addressing their cooperative care and intragroup competition. Thus, we performed a
series of experiments in which marmosets would encounter food with diverse quantity and
quality, both in periods where infants were present and not. We evaluated the latency to call,
time feeding before calling, and the number of calls emitted before others’ arrival by the first
animal to find the food. Finally, we analyzed the effects of marmosets’ social status, presence
of infants, and different experimental conditions on these behavioral variables. We observed
greater participation of helpers in all sessions. In infants' presence, male helpers had a faster
vocal response, decreased food consumption, and an increased food call production. In the
absence of infants, however, opposite results were found, corroborating greater proactivity and
willingness to share when infant care is necessary. Regarding different experimental conditions,
female helpers showed an increase in their calling latency and food consumption for small
amounts of food, which may indicate a lower propensity to share limited resources. In contrast,
males exhibited a decrease in latency and food consumption only for high-quality resources.
Our results are consistent with Callithrix jacchus social dynamics and reinforce male helpers’
proactive prosociality and their crucial role in infant care, whereas subordinate females engage
in a more competitive and less cooperative behavioral profile. |
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