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A comparative study of litter size and sex composition in a large dataset of callitrichine monkeys.

  • McCoy DE Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • Frye BM Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.
  • Kotler J Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • Burkart JM Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
  • Burns M Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • Embury A Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, Victoria.
  • Eyre S Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand.
  • Galbusera P Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Hooper J Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand.
  • Idoe A Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.
  • Goya AL Zoology Department, Faunia-Parques Reunidos, Madrid, Spain.
  • Mickelberg J Animal Collections Department, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Quesada MP Zoology Department, Faunia-Parques Reunidos, Madrid, Spain.
  • Stevenson M Bristol Zoological Society, Bristol, UK.
  • Sullivan S Primate Department, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois.
  • Warneke M Department of Animal Health, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois.
  • Wojciechowski S Primate Department, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois.
  • Wormell D Mammal Department, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Channel Islands, UK.
  • Haig D Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • Tardif SD Southwest National Primate Research Center, San Antonio, Texas.
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  • 2019-08-08
Published in:
  • American journal of primatology. - 2019
birth sex ratio
callitrichine
litter size
sibling competition
studbook
Animals
Animals, Laboratory
Animals, Zoo
Callitrichinae
Litter Size
Longevity
Reproduction
Sex Ratio
Species Specificity
English In many birds and mammals, the size and sex composition of litters can have important downstream effects for individual offspring. Primates are model organisms for questions of cooperation and conflict, but the factors shaping interactions among same-age siblings have been less-studied in primates because most species bear single young. However, callitrichines (marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins) frequently bear litters of two or more, thereby providing the opportunity to ask whether variation in the size and sex composition of litters affects development, survival, and reproduction. To investigate these questions, we compiled a large dataset of nine species of callitrichines (n = 27,080 individuals; Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Cebuella pygmaea, Saguinus imperator, Saguinus oedipus, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, Leontopithecus chrysopygus, Leontopithecus rosalia, and Callimico goeldii) from zoo and laboratory populations spanning 80 years (1938-2018). Through this comparative approach, we found several lines of evidence that litter size and sex composition may impact fitness. Singletons have higher survivorship than litter-born peers and they significantly outperform litter-born individuals on two measures of reproductive performance. Further, for some species, individuals born in a mixed-sex litter outperform isosexually-born individuals (i.e., those born in all-male or all-female litters), suggesting that same-sex competition may limit reproductive performance. We also document several interesting demographic trends. All but one species (C. pygmaea) has a male-biased birth sex ratio with higher survivorship from birth to sexual maturity among females (although this was significant in only two species). Isosexual litters occurred at the expected frequency (with one exception: C. pygmaea), unlike other animals, where isosexual litters are typically overrepresented. Taken together, our results indicate a modest negative effect of same-age sibling competition on reproductive output in captive callitrichines. This study also serves to illustrate the value of zoo and laboratory records for biological inquiry.
Language
  • English
Open access status
hybrid
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/11870
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