Intergroup food transfers in wild golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia)

Camille A. Troisi

doi:10.1007/s10329-020-00846-x

Abstract

The transfer of food between adults is uncommon in primates. Although golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) are unique among primates in the extent to which they transfer food, reports of food transfers between adults have so far been restricted to captive or reintroduced individuals. Here, I report the first recorded events of adult–adult food transfers in golden lion tamarins between individuals belonging to different groups in the wild. Given that individuals emigrate from their natal group to find reproductive opportunities, I suggest that intergroup food transfers could be a way for individuals to estimate the quality or availability of potential mates or social partners. I propose an additional function of food transfers in wild golden lion tamarins: that they create and strengthen social bonds with individuals outside of the family group.

Highlights

Within-group food transfers are common in primates, in apes and callitrichids (Brown et al 2004), and can serve several functions
Three of the groups were located in the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve (PDA) (22°30′–22°33′S, 42°15′–42°19′W), and the three other groups in a pocket of Atlantic forest in the Fazenda Afetiva-Jorge (FAJ), Imbaú region (22°37′S, 42°28′W)
Most previous work on food transfers in golden lion tamarins has focussed on transfers from adults to young to determine whether the function of the transfer is to provide nutrition, information or both (Price and Feistner 1993; Rapaport 1999; Troisi et al 2020)

Summary

Introduction

Within-group food transfers are common in primates, in apes and callitrichids (Brown et al 2004), and can serve several functions. A common function of transfers is to provide young with food or information, but between adults, food transfers can be used to avoid harassment (Brown et al 2004; Feistner and McGrew 1989; Jaeggi and Van Schaik 2011). In support of this second function, most adult–adult food transfers in primates are predicted by dominance, with

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