Communal infant care in marmosets and tamarins: relation to energetics, ecology, and social organization

Abstract

Abstract The need for helpers in infant care has been hypothesized as shaping the mating system and social structure in callitrichid primates. Recent field studies suggest that substantial variation may exist in mating patterns and social structure both within and between callitrichid species. Disagreements remain as to whether the modal mating system is monogamy or polyandry. However, the inability of a single adult to raise multiple offspring of a relatively high total litter weight by herself is frequently cited as causally related to both monogamy (Hershkovitz 1977; Leutenegger 1980) and polyandry (Garber et al. 1984; Terborgh and Goldizen 1985; Sussman and Garber 1987).

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