The Primate Life Course Flashcards
Are births in primates assisted or unassisted?
Generally unassisted due to their wider birth canal
What do primate mothers do when they give birth?
It is hard to tell when NHP are pregnant.
They will often leave the group to give birth because it is a vulnerable state
What are the effects of a newborn in a primate group?
New infants often draw attention from the other group members.
- can be stressful for the mother
Socialization
modification of behaviour in the individual due to interaction with other members of the social group
Ontogeny
development and growth of the individual
- social, environmental and genetic
What state are primates born?
Primates are born relatively altricial
- body and brain relatively undeveloped
-humans most of all of the primates
Explain primate early life
Primate infants have a lot to learn
- single births make the mother-baby connection strong
-grasping hands allow the baby to travel with mom 24/7
-opportunity to learn through observation and experience –> sees what the mother sees and learns from interactions witnessed and where to go and what to do
What are the four major socializing agents of primates?
- Mothers
- Alloparents
- adult males
- peers
What influences maternal care?
- age of mother
- experience
- nulliparous (no offspring before)
- primiparous (first offspring)
- multiparous (many offspring) - Rank of the mother
- Quality of her own maternal care (nuture?)
How does sex difference change behaviour?
Behaviour changes observed around puberty
- may exist in some species at birth
- examples of male infant behaviour in macaques = aggression, rough play, independence from mother etc
Alloparenting
Someone who cares or interacts with infant that is not the mom
- mostly juvenile females, female kin and adult males (mono or polyandry groups)
Where is alloparenting more common?
It varies between species
- more common in female-bonded groups
Why do some non-mothers express interest in infants?
- Kin selection
- especially in matriline groups - learning to mother
- helps with primiparous mothers gain experience handling infants
- can sometimes be dangerous for infant - access to high-ranking mothers
Is alloparenting good or bad for the infant?
good - higher range of socialization
bad - may be risky to infant if mishandled
What could drive adult male -infant interactions?
- intersexual selection = shows tolerance towards offspring and mother might mate with you next
- level of paternity certainty = correlates to group structure
- kin selection
What are the 4 categories of adult male - infant interactions?
- Intensive caretaking
- Affiliation
- Tolerance/Occasional affiliation
- Use and abuse
Intensive caretaking
-Share all parental duties except nursing
- most common in monogamous NWM (tamarins and marmosets)
- male care ends when infant is capable of independent movements
Affiliation
- Males spend part of day in friendly interactions with one or more specific infant
- involve enduring relationships = infants turn to them in times of distress
- males ‘babysit’ while mother is away and protects infant from other group members
- males are often ‘friends’ with mothers
Who shows affiliation behaviour?
some baboons, black howlers, gorillas, stumptail macaques, some chimps
- OWM side by side foraging as an example
Occasional Affiliation/Tolerance
Males indifferent to infants but may permit infants to be near them and direct affiliation toward them
- not sustained/long term
- end of the continuum of affiliation
-Ex: spider monkeys and chimps (multi f/m groups, may play together)
Use and Abuse
Males interact in ways which are beneficial to the male, potentially harmful to the infant
- ex: agonistic buffering
-mothers may try to resist
Infanticide
- Sexual selection is a driving force for infanticide (polygynous group takeover by new male)
- Male competition (forces ovulation to increase reproductive success)
Peers and Play
- Important for learning how to interact with non-relatives and to learn social cues
- First experience with competition
How is play distinguished
- play is exaggerated in posture and movement, repeated and restrained (ex: biting to play not to injure)
