Banca de DEFESA: DÉBORA LOUISE DA CRUZ SILVA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DÉBORA LOUISE DA CRUZ SILVA
DATE: 21/06/2021
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Videoconferência
TITLE:

Should I call or should I hold? Factors affecting food-associated calls in wild Callithrix jacchus

KEY WORDS:

Vocal communication; Primate sociality; Foraging behavior; Alloparental care.

PAGES: 87
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:

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 at moments where infant care is necessary. In the absence of infants, individuals possibly adopt compensatory strategies to offset infant care costs and to 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 that marmosets’ social status, presence of infants, and different experimental conditions had on these behavioral variables. We observed greater participation of helpers in all sessions. Male helpers, in the presence of infants, 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. Whereas 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.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1149552 - ARRILTON ARAUJO DE SOUZA
Interna - 990.796.828-53 - MARIA EMILIA YAMAMOTO - UFRN
Externo à Instituição - JUDITH BURKART
Externa à Instituição - MARIA ADELIA BORSTELMANN DE OLIVEIRA - UFRPE