Social interactions of the Black Lion Tamarins (BLT)

• Grant number: 22/05449-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Laurence Marianne Vincianne Culot
• Grantee: Breno de Lima Souza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06668-0 - Primate resilience in an anthropogenic landscape, AP.BTA.JP2

Abstract

Despite more than 30 years of research about the BLT, there are very little empirical information about the group structure and social relationships of the species. Many information is actually inferred from congeneric species for which such information is available. Therefore, it is urgent to obtain field data for the BLT to verify how much they differ or not from their congeners. We thus request a Master fellowship to study the group structure and social relationships of BLT individuals belonging to three neighboring groups in a riparian forest (Buri, SP). Since blood samples of the individuals of the group will be collected for genetic analyses (see the main Young Investigator Project for more details), it will be possible to link the behavioral observations to the kinship relationship of the individuals. The objectives of this Master Project are (1) to determine the structure of three neighboring groups in a riparian forest of Buri, (2) to determine the social relationships of the individuals within their groups in terms of dominance, leadership, and affiliative behaviors, and (3) to determine the inter-group relationships in terms of territoriality.