Social and Environmental Factors Influencing Reproductive Success in a Cooperatively Breeding Primate

Cooperative breeding is a system where non-breeding individuals care for another individual's offspring. In primates, cooperative breeding is only found in the family Callitrichidae. Leontopithecus chrysomelas (the golden-headed lion tamarin) is an endangered callitrichid that is facing high rates of habitat loss and fragmentation. For this study, I analyzed the influence of social, parental and environmental variables on reproductive success in L. chrysomelas, using data previously collected during the first long-term study on a wild population of this species. I found that infant survival was negatively associated with group size, but this was tempered by the presence of multiple adult males. The use of secondary forest was associated with high body condition, as well as high resting and reproductive rates, indicating that it can act as a good quality habitat under certain conditions. In addition, secondary forest use and the presence of multiple males were associated with faster infant growth and higher adult weights.M.Sc.2019-11-17 00:00:0