Paternal care in socially monogamous owl monkeys (Aotus azarai) of the Argentinean Chaco

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The existence of intense paternal care among primates remains an enigma. Male primates cannot be certain that they have sired the infants they care for, nor can they provide the nourishment that lactating females supply. Still, nowhere amongst primates is paternal care more extensive and more obligate than among the titi monkeys and owl monkeys of South America. The latter live in small socially monogamous groups consisting of an adult pair and 2-4 young. Dependent infants are carried as much as 90% of the time by their putative father who also plays, grooms and shares food with them more than the mother or any other group member does. The proposed study will contribute to our understanding of paternal care in owl monkeys, in the context of a long-term research program on monogamy and paternal care in Neotropical primates. Using long-term behavioural, demographic and genetic data I will examine: 1. how differences in males’ parenting abilities influence the development rates of infants, 2. whether females’ reproductive costs are lessened by male care/services, and 3. whether male care may function as a mating strategy.