You are a zookeeper in charge of maintaining a breeding colony consisting of thr

Question

You are a zookeeper in charge of maintaining a breeding colony consisting of three male/female pairs of extremely rare rainforest pygmy marmosets. This species has been restricted by habitat loss to a 1000 hectare region of rainforest, and will likely become extinct without captive breeding. This particular species have never been bred successfully in captivity and only five individuals have ever been housed in zoos.

A) What foods would you feed these animals and on what basis would you choose these food items? How specifically would you formulate carbohydrate, lipid, and protein composition of their meals?

B)How would you go about estimating how much food the animals should eat on a daily basis? If they weigh about 80 grams.

C)You visually observe male and female marmosets copulating but no offspring are produced. List at least three initial steps related to nutrition that you would take to try to correct the problem

Explanation / Answer

A] The pygmy marmosets are omnivorous. This means they feed on both plant products and animals. In the wild, their food includes plant exudates like resin and gum, fruits, flowers, seeds, fungi, snails, lizards, tree frogs, insects, birds' eggs, infants of other animals etc.

In captivity too, care will have to be taken to feed them a diet which is balanced and nutritious. In fact, when in the wild, plant products form a major part of their diet. So, to make the marmosets feel as close to their natural habitat and breeding habit, the zookeeper will have to include a considerable amount of carbohydrate which comes from plants along with a substantial amount of animal proteins. Lipis or fats will be necessary to fulfil their high energy requirements since these animals are highly agile and active. They are arboreal and spend most of their time climbing branches, swinging and jumping about from one branch to another.

B] The marmosets are small in structure but are highly active by nature. Since they are kept in a zoo, we assume that the main purpose of this is their protection and breeding. Their diet will have to be planned carefully, keeping this in mind.

So, the animals should be given a healthy and balanced diet, weighing approximately 30 grams, each day.

C] If copulation is not resulting in pregnancy, the primary reason could be that the female is not ovulating. Studies have shown that female marmosets do not ovulate when a male relative [ for example, father] is around. They ovulate normally in the presence of an unrelated male !!

If we overlook the above condition in the given scenario [ we assume that the animals are not genetically related ], the chief concern should be to make the female ovulate.

The diet of the marmoset will have to be designed such that there is a high protein content. A measured dose of hormones should be given to the female marmoset to enhance its capacity to ovulate and increase its chances of conceiving. The male marmoset should also be given a high protein diet along with male hormones to facilitate its production of sperms so that chances of conception are increased.

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