WEBVTT - How Do Marmosets Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here Curious, Lively and social. Common Marmosets

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<v Speaker 1>are a group of monkeys found primarily in the forested

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<v Speaker 1>areas of central Brazil and neighboring areas of South America.

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<v Speaker 1>There are more than twenty subspecies of marmosets, including the

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<v Speaker 1>pygmy marmoset, which is the world's smallest monkey. It weighs

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<v Speaker 1>on average just over four ounces that's about one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty grams and measures just over five inches in

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<v Speaker 1>length or about twelve centimeters. Marmosets are members of one

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<v Speaker 1>of five families of primates called Plattarines or New World monkeys.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because at some point millions of years ago they

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<v Speaker 1>separated from the primates of Africa and wound up on

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of the Atlantic. The apes and so

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<v Speaker 1>called Old World monkeys are catarines. Marsets are almost exclusively

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<v Speaker 1>tree dwellers. Their nostrils are rounded and further apart than catarines,

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<v Speaker 1>and though they do use their tails for balance, their

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<v Speaker 1>tails are not prehensile, meaning they can't grasp things with them.

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<v Speaker 1>Those tails are banded and long, usually longer than their bodies.

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<v Speaker 1>Even non pygmy types are pretty small. The average male

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<v Speaker 1>marmoset weighs about nine ounces or two hundred and fifty grams,

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<v Speaker 1>and will be just over seven inches in length that's

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<v Speaker 1>about eighteen centimeters. Females are just a little smaller. Their

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<v Speaker 1>facial skin is pale, but it darkens in the sun.

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<v Speaker 1>They're covered with fur that's flecked with brown, gray, and yellow.

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<v Speaker 1>They have large white ear tufts and the white blaze

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<v Speaker 1>on their forehead. Their hands and feet look very similar

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<v Speaker 1>to squirrels. Their thumbs are not opposable, and they have

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<v Speaker 1>claw like nails on all but their big toe. They

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<v Speaker 1>use these claws to help them move through the trees quickly,

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<v Speaker 1>using all four legs like squirrels, but also to scrap

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<v Speaker 1>and scratch tree bark to get at the gums, app

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<v Speaker 1>and resin that can make up to seventy percent of

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<v Speaker 1>their diet. Marmosets also forage four insects and eat fruit, seeds, fungi, nectar,

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<v Speaker 1>and small animals from snails to lizards to nestlings. They're

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<v Speaker 1>active for eleven to twelve hours a day after feeding

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<v Speaker 1>for an hour or so after waking, marmosets typically alternate

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<v Speaker 1>between resting, feeding, and socializing with their family group. According

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<v Speaker 1>to researchers, fifty three percent of their time is spent stationary,

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<v Speaker 1>sprawled out like their on summer vacation, but it's not

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<v Speaker 1>all rolling around the treetops. Being on the small side

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<v Speaker 1>means marmosets are particularly vulnerable to predators, especially raptors and owls,

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<v Speaker 1>tree snakes, wildcats, and mustelids like weasels, badgers, and ferrets.

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<v Speaker 1>In the wild. The average life span of the Carmen

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<v Speaker 1>marmoset is twelve years. For the article, this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on to Works checked in with the Wisconsin National

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<v Speaker 1>Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Madison. The

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<v Speaker 1>center is currently home to about two hundred and seventy

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<v Speaker 1>marmosets who are helping researchers learn more about everything from

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<v Speaker 1>parenting to Parkinson's disease. Specifically, Hastiff Works spoke by email

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<v Speaker 1>with doctor Marina Emborg, a medical doctor, a professor of

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<v Speaker 1>medical physics, and the director of the pre clinical Parkinson's

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<v Speaker 1>Research program at the center. She explained that marmosets make

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<v Speaker 1>excellent subjects in neurological research for several reasons. Quote, their

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<v Speaker 1>shorter life span sixteen years in captivity means they reach

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<v Speaker 1>adulthood more quickly, they have babies more quickly. Also, when

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<v Speaker 1>you're studying neurogenerative disease like me, you need an older subject.

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<v Speaker 1>A recis monkey, for example, isn't old until it's twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five years old, but a marmoset has a shorter life span,

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<v Speaker 1>so it essentially speeds up the pace of research. She

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<v Speaker 1>says that marmoset's social cohesion they live in extended family

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<v Speaker 1>groups of up to fifteen or so also helps ho

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works also spoke about email with doctor Tony Ziegler,

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<v Speaker 1>distinguished scientist at the Center who focuses her study on

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<v Speaker 1>that social order. Ziegler discovered that when a female marmoset

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<v Speaker 1>gets pregnant, a male marmosets are primed to support their

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<v Speaker 1>mate in a unique way. She said, marmosets in the

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<v Speaker 1>wild and in captivity will ovulate within two weeks after

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<v Speaker 1>giving birth and conceive over eighty five percent of the time.

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<v Speaker 1>The mom is in a cycle of a five month gestation,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are just two weeks out of the year

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<v Speaker 1>that she's not pregnant and Marmosets are multiple ovulators. They

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<v Speaker 1>give birth to twins and triplets in captivity, not really

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<v Speaker 1>in the wild. The twins can weigh twenty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the mother's body weight, so they are a huge energetic

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<v Speaker 1>load and the mother needs helpers. The males are actually

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<v Speaker 1>going through hormonal changes along with their mates. It's likely

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<v Speaker 1>they're getting chemical signal communication that the mate is pregnant,

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<v Speaker 1>and they'll gain weight as the mate does during the pregnancy,

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<v Speaker 1>and they start having hormonal changes things like the estrogen

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<v Speaker 1>prolactin glucocorticoid changes, which is like cortisol before the babies

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<v Speaker 1>are born. Ziegler says that experiments in which sixty percent

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<v Speaker 1>of marmoset fathers went searching for their offspring when hearing

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<v Speaker 1>their recorded cry led her to believe that those marmoset

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<v Speaker 1>fathers had been better primed for fatherhood with their mates

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<v Speaker 1>and had better social bonding. As Ziegler said, marmosets are

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<v Speaker 1>great to work with. Their whole social system is amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>They're very curious, they love people. They love to observe

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<v Speaker 1>people as much as people love to observe them. It

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<v Speaker 1>makes for a great species to work with. Although responsible

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<v Speaker 1>Animal research is an important part of medical research that

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<v Speaker 1>can save and improve many lives. Marmosets do not make

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<v Speaker 1>good pets. They thrive when they're housed with their family members.

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<v Speaker 1>Captive marmosets can get bored and require the right sort

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<v Speaker 1>of stimulation and activity, which is truly a full time

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<v Speaker 1>job for researchers who work with them to provide in

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<v Speaker 1>those rare circumstances where they are kept in captivity. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on an article marmosets are tiny upper

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<v Speaker 1>canopy dwelling monkeys on how Stuffworks dot Com written by

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<v Speaker 1>Patti Rasnesen. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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