The Social Behavior of a Marmoset (Saguinus fuscicollis) Group

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The social behavior, and particularly the spacing patterns, of a marmoset (Saguinus fuscicollis) group in a semi-naturalistic enclosure were observed for 14 months. Data analysis revealed various changes as the group grew in size from four to eventually six members. Weekly mean distances between the adult pair supported a spatial measure of estrus for the female. Group dispersion, mean squared distance between all possible pairs, seemed to vary with the age composition of the group. Factor analysis of location correlation matrices by 4-week blocks resulted in age-related subgroupings. Each of the adult pair formed an independent subgroup except for behavioral estrus and early infant care periods when they formed one subgroup. The offspring, initially attached to the adults, gradually moved into juvenile/subadult subgroups. Increasing spatial independence was shown as an animal approached adulthood at 24 months of age.