A Look into the Activity Budgets of Captive Cotton-Top Tamarins (S. oedipus)

Authors

Jessica Phagan, University of Central Florida

Mentor

Frank Logiudice

Abstract

Cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) are a species of New World Monkey that are small in size. They live in groups that typically contain family members, including a breeding pair and their offspring. Seven related individuals were observed for this study, which was designed to ensure and evaluate the activity budgets of each tamarin. The aim of the study was to determine whether the older tamarins possessed different activity levels than the younger offspring. Each cotton-top tamarin was observed for an hour per week over a ten-week period. Each activity— playing with other tamarins, active in general, eating, grooming or being groomed, and other activities such as observing and resting—was timed and then added up to give a total time budget for each category. Predator versus non-predator mobbing calls were also observed and recorded during this study. It was concluded that there was a difference in the activity of the youngest tamarins versus the oldest tamarin. The oldest tamarin, Logan, had the lowest total time of 45 minutes for activity and play compared to 119 total time for Hippo, one of the offspring from the most recent birth. The finding that there was a difference in activity levels between the older and younger tamarins is important in aiding other researchers better understand the behaviors of captive cotton-top tamarins.

About the Author

Jessica Phagan is an undergraduate at the University of Central Florida. She is a Biology major on the Marine and Aquatic track and is involved in two labs on campus. She is especially passionate about animal behavior and marine science. She plans on going to graduate school to further pursue her education in marine biology and hope to obtain a job also pertaining to that field of study.

Recommended Citation

Phagan, Jessica (2019) "A Look into the Activity Budgets of Captive Cotton-Top Tamarins (S. oedipus)," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol10/iss2/4