Characteristics of gouging by captive-born silvery marmosets in gum-producing trees

What is it about?

Marmosets are small South American primates that specialize in eating gums, which they prompt plants to produce by gouging holes through the bark. They have evolved adaptations to their teeth and digestive systems to enable them to use this unusual source of food, and this ability enables them to adapt to changing conditions. We studied a group of zoo-living free-ranging silvery marmosets (Mico argentatus) that had learned to feed on gums from wild cherry trees and Portuguese laurel trees (Prunus species). The marmosets gouged holes in tree trunks at angles of around 40 degrees from the vertical. We do not yet know if marmoset species differ in the techniques they use to harvest gum, or whether use different gouging techniques for different plant species, for example to maximize the production of gum. Jersey Zoo has allowed many groups of marmosets and their relatives, tamarins, to range freely in its grounds for over 30 years. These groups have helped us to learn about how these monkeys can adapt to new environments, vital information for conservation programmes that include reintroduction of captive-born individuals to the wild, as well as for our understanding of how wild marmosets and tamarins might cope with changes to their forest habitats as a result of climate change.

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