How maternal care styles affect offspring social behavior of wild capuchin monkeys

• Grant number: 25/06937-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 15, 2025
• End date: December 14, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Izar Mauro
• Grantee: Julia de Omena Gomes
• Supervisor: Joan B Silk
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Arizona State University, Tempe (ASU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/04046-0 - Maternal care in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus: plasticity or personality?, BP.DR

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that early life experiences have an impact on an individual's development. By being the primary caretaker of offspring in primates, the mother plays a crucial role in offspring development. Studying wild capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus), I plan to analyze whether females exhibit consistent maternal care styles across multiple offspring and if maternal care styles impact the outcome of offspring social behavior. The capuchin monkey population of this study inhabits Fazenda Boa Vista, in Brazil. The groups are habituated to researchers, and the monkeys are individually recognizable. Through video recordings using the focal animal sampling method, we will observe 10 females in 30 mother-infant dyads, with 3 different offspring for each female during the first 12 weeks of the infant's life. Maternal engagement frequency will be assessed in behavioral categories: maternal protection, maternal rejection, and warmth. Out of the 30 dyads, 12 infants will be analyzed from birth to the 3rd year of life, with registries of the duration and frequency of social interactions, both passively and actively. The behaviors were recorded using the BORIS software. I plan on working with Prof. Joan Silk of Arizona State University to categorize maternal care styles for this population and relate the data with the outcomes of immature capuchins' social behavior. The findings of this research will contribute to advancing knowledge on variation in maternal behavior among adult females and the consequences for infant development. (AU)