Parent–Daughter Relationships and Social Controls on Fertility in Female Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus

Abstract

This study examined the reproductive status of mothers and daughters to determine if parent–eldest daughter interactions would influence the daughter's fertility in the cooperatively breeding common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus. Twice weekly fecal samples were collected for hormonal analyses from seven daughters and their mothers and analyzed for cortisol, estradiol, and progesterone by EIA. Behavioral data were collected three times weekly while the daughters were under three conditions: natal family, after removing from the family and paring with a novel male, and after removing from the paired condition and placed back with the family (renatal). Under the natal condition, five of the seven daughters exhibited ovarian cycles while their mother was pregnant or displaying ovarian cycling. The five cycling daughters spent significantly more time initiating affilative behaviors with their mothers than with their fathers and showed significant changes in their behavior over the length of the ovarian cycle. However, aggression, submission, and sexual behaviors were very low for daughters in the natal phase. No differences between cortisol levels were found for a daughter and her mother. Cortisol levels showed a significant and sustained increase upon pairing within the first 20 days. All females but one cycled while paired. Six of the seven females were accepted back into the family after pairing and five of the seven females were ovulating. These results suggest that marmoset daughters are not necessarily reproductively suppressed while living with the family. Additionally, these data suggest that female marmosets that leave their family to explore mating opportunities with other groups may return to their family without reproductive or aggressive consequences.