A field study of the social behavior of Goeldi's monkeys (Callimico goeldii) in North Bolivia. II. Grouping pattern and intragroup relationship

Abstract

The intragroup relationship of an artificially baited group of Callimico was investigated by observing the grouping pattern, grooming relations, agonistic interactions, and food-dominance among individuals. For the first two months, the group was likely to segregate into two subgroups. Each of them was made up of an adult female and her offspring. The group became cohesive after two infants were newly born. In November, a juvenile female left the group. As the infants got independence, the cohesiveness of the group decreased again. They came to interact with other juveniles frequently. Therefore a kind of peer grouping occurred, being separated from the subgroup of adult individuals. These changes of the social relations among group members are discussed in terms of the reproduction, infant development, and change of the age-sex ratio of the group.