title: Preliminary findings on social and ecological correlates of a polyspecific association between a golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) and Wied's marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii).
abstract: The advantages of living in a group include feeding benefits and/or predation avoidance, while the disadvantages are typically related to competition. One way to avoid competition while maintaining the benefits of living in a group is to form interspecific associations with species with relatively little dietary overlap. Here we report a stable association between a male golden-headed lion tamarin (GHLT), Leontopithecus chrysomelas, and a group of Wied's black-tufted-ear marmosets (WBTMs), Callithrix kuhlii. We collected ecological and behavioral data on a duo of GHLTs from May to August 2008, totaling 62 h of observations. On 19 August 2008, the radio-collared GHLT dispersed alone and was located on 28 August in association with WBTMs. To examine possible changes in GHLT ecology and behavior, we monitored the mixed-species group between September and December 2008, totaling 122 h of observations. We found that the GHLT's home range and daily path length decreased by about ten and three times, respectively, after joining the WBTM group, suggesting adaptations to the WBTMs' use of space. All non-agonistic behaviors recorded in the mixed group were directed from GHLT to the WBMTs, whereas all agonistic interactions were directed from the WBMTs to the GHLT, indicating a subordinate position of GHLT in the mixed group. In golden lion tamarins, reproductive success of subordinate adult males that remain in the group is higher than that of those that disperse and "prospect" for a breeding opportunity. If dispersing individuals are unable to find a mate and defend a territory, they will likely die within a year. The dispersing GHLT in this study assumed a subordinate role in a mixed-species group outside a GHLT territory. Apparently, the benefits of waiting for a dispersing female in a relatively safe situation may exceed the costs of prospecting elsewhere or being a subordinate.
authors: Departamento de Ciências, Faculdade de Formação de Professores, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rua Dr. Francisco Portela, 1470-Patronato, CEP 24435-005, São Gonçalo, RJ, Brazil. leonardoco@gmail.com.|Programa de pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Salobrinho, CEP 45662-900, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil. leonardoco@gmail.com.|Bicho do Mato Instituto de Pesquisa, Av. Cônsul Antônio Cadar, 600, CEP 30360-082, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. leonardoco@gmail.com.
authors: Leonardo
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1774-0713
authors: L
authors: de Carvalho Oliveira
authors: Programa de pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Salobrinho, CEP 45662-900, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.
authors: Juliana Monteiro
authors: JM
authors: de Almeida Rocha
authors: Programa de pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Salobrinho, CEP 45662-900, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.|Instituto de Estudos Socioambientais do Sul da Bahia (IESB), Rua Araujo Pinho, 72-3° Andar, Centro, CEP 45.653-145, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.
authors: Paula Pedreira
authors: PP
authors: Dos Reis
authors: Program in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.|Save the Golden Lion Tamarin, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Dietz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002144:Callithrix / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006702:Homing Behavior; D051039:Leontopithecus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Callithrichidae; Dispersal; Mixed group; Platyrrhini; Primate hierarchy; Sociality