Conflict between caregivers and infants typically centers on disagreements over the amount and frequency of care provided. Prior research has identified many variables that impact patterns of mother–infant conflict. These include wide-ranging factors such as individual temperament, reproductive status, and availability of resources. By contrast, no studies have investigated the variables that influence father–infant conflict. To better understand the nature of caregiver–infant conflict in a species with obligate biparental care, I observed two groups of San Martin titi monkeys inhabiting disturbed secondary forest fragments in the San Martín region of Peru. Using instantaneous focal sampling of infants, I recorded physical conflict between infants and caregivers and instances of infant avoidance (leaving the infant) by adult males. I summarized data as the percentage of records in which these activities occurred for each focal day and report the estimates for caregivers. I further calculated mean percentages by month of infant age to assess the relative timing of infant conflict, for each group and age/sex class, and infant avoidance by males. Percentages of conflict and avoidance were markedly higher in the larger group living in a smaller habitat than in the other group. This pattern occurred across all age/sex classes. In both groups, the greatest amount of infant conflict occurred with siblings. I discuss the substantial variation in conflict and avoidance in relation to the various socioecological conditions that may have played a role. This study provides an in-depth description and exploration of parent–offspring and sibling conflict, which has not been examined previously in this species.

中文翻译：

---

对圣马丁猴 (Plecturocebus oenanthe) 婴儿冲突和回避的观察

看护者和婴儿之间的冲突通常集中在对所提供护理的数量和频率的分歧上。先前的研究已经确定了许多影响母婴冲突模式的变量。这些包括广泛的因素，例如个人气质、生殖状态和资源的可用性。相比之下，没有研究调查影响父婴冲突的变量。为了更好地了解具有强制双亲照顾的物种的照顾者-婴儿冲突的性质，我观察了两组圣马丁猴，它们栖息在秘鲁圣马丁地区受干扰的次生林碎片中。使用婴儿的瞬时焦点采样，我记录了婴儿和照顾者之间的身体冲突以及成年男性避免婴儿（离开婴儿）的情况。我将数据总结为每个焦点日发生这些活动的记录的百分比，并报告了护理人员的估计值。我进一步计算了每个月婴儿年龄的平均百分比，以评估每个组和年龄/性别类别的婴儿冲突的相对时间，以及男性对婴儿的回避。居住在较小栖息地的较大群体的冲突和回避百分比明显高于其他群体。这种模式发生在所有年龄/性别类别中。在这两个群体中，最大的婴儿冲突发生在兄弟姐妹之间。我讨论了与可能发挥作用的各种社会生态条件有关的冲突和回避的实质性变化。这项研究提供了对亲子和兄弟姐妹冲突的深入描述和探索，