Introduction


	Study Introduction:


	While there are numerous studies of similar species in the wild, there are very few studies about pied bare-faced tamarins in their natural habitat. In addition, bicolored tamarins are also rare to captivity, thus there have been few studies completed in a captive setting.


	There are essentially no field studies published on the bicolored tamarin in their natural habitat. However, many other field studies have been conducted on other species within the genus Saguinus. These studies mainly include species such as S. fuscicollis, S. mystax, S. oedipus , and S. geoffroyi, and they cover a vast amount of topics ranging from foraging behavior (Lopes, 1994; Izawa, 1978; Garber, 1993) to demographic and reproductive behavior (Caine, 1993; Richard, 1985).

	Studies of the bicolored tamarin in captivity are minimal, however, compared to wild studies, more published material is available. The most recent Beaver College study performed on this particular species was done in the Spring of 1998 by Christy Swerdlow, who did a 20 hour study. Previous to Swerdlow's study their were two 20 hour observations done in the Spring of 1996 by Julie Williams and Maria Bell.

In addition to the Beaver College studies there are two other published studies. The first study was done on the scent marking behaviors in captive pied tamarins, done by Wormell in 1992. Conclusions were based on 6 captive pied tamarins, and 5 types of scent marking behavior were recorded. Overall, scent marking rates between males and females did not differ. Anogenital marking accounted for 70% of scent marking behavior, while suprapubic accounted for 10%, the next most frequent scent marking behavior.

The second captive study on the pied tamarins dealt with the relationships within male-female pairs (Wormell, 1994). Observations (similar to this particular study) were conducted for a period of 21.4 hours on 4 heterosexual pairs, two of which were siblings and two were unrelated. Behavioral sex differences were reported, females participated more in autogrooming, where the male siblings tended to more aggressive and participated more in sexual examination of the female. However, this particular study found no significant differences between sibling and non-sibling pairs. Incestuous mating was recorded, but it is thought of to be rare in captive studies. Wormell (1994) concluded that in his study, incest occurred due to the lack of a more appropriate non-related female partner.

The studies included on this website were conducted, not only to make a meaningful comparison of captive behaviors to ones that the species exhibits in the wild, but also to illustrate the importance of captive breeding as a means of conservation. Breeding rates of this captive species are low, but the Philadelphia Zoo has had success in the past producing offspring (Swerdlow, 1998). Data was compiled in order to provide analysis on behavioral patterns in an attempt to show normal social and solitary activity. It is imperative to the survival of the bicolored tamarin that they be able to engage in typical social behaviors of their wild counter parts.


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