Similar to humans, marmosets have a wide range of behaviors. As non-human primates are our closet relatives and so similar to us, we can learn a lot from them. We can gain new knowledge about their behavior just by watching them. Some non-human primates can be great models for human activity because they live in families, just like humans. Non-human primates have always sparked our curiosity and imagination. Through observing primates we are given the chance to learn about ourselves and about behavior that is more typical of primates than other mammals.
Some questions that are commonly asked in regards to observing marmosets that you might want to use are:
Primates, including the common marmoset, can be found in a variety of different social groupings:
For the most part common marmosets practice cooperative breeding, which is characterized by the participation in infant care or other activities by other members of the group besides the mother. They usually live in multi male & multi female groups that resemble an extended family. Cooperative breeders usually specialize in habitats in which the amount of energy it takes to raise infants is very high. Twins weigh, on average, 23% of their mother's body weight. The mother also gets pregnant again within 2-3 weeks of giving birth. Therefore, the mother is usually pregnant and lactating at the same time, both activities consume much of the mother's energy.
The common marmoset displays a fascinating range of behaviors, many of which you can observe on the Callicam.
An ethogram (a graph or chart of behavior) is used to compare certain behaviors that can be observed while watching the marmosets.
Text and design by Lissa Pabst.
Development of this web page was supported by a grant from the Wisconsin Advanced Telecommunications Foundation, the University of Wisconsin (Extension & Systems), and grants number RR00167 and number RR15311, National Primate Centers Program, National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.
URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/marmoset/observing.html
Page last modified:
July 29, 2003
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Send questions, comments, and suggestions about this site to Larry Jacobsen