This research project will investigate the social organization of a population of Sanguinus mystax, or mustached tamarins, on Padre Isla in the Peruvian Amazon. Tamarins have long been recognized as unusual primates due to a number of rare sociosexual traits, such as the restriction of breeding to a single female, the tendency to bear twins, and the extensive participation of males in infant care. Until recently, however, little was known of their social behavior in the wild; all inferences of social organization were based on observations of captive animals. During the course of fieldwork the reseracher will document the composition of troops and analyze patterns of interindividual interaction. The student will then test the implications of parental investment theory with regard to group composition, mating systems and interindividual behavior. Research on different primate species is informative with regard to the biological spects of the human experience. Primate studies provide a comparative context for investigating human origins. Information on callitrichids is especially important since it provides information on male care of infants: care- giving relationships between adult males and young represent a prfound difference between human and great ape social organization.
