I am interested in animal behavior and study communicative behavior in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) for my PhD thesis. In a first part, I am investigating if different populations of C.jacchus show different dialects and patterns of vocal learning, a process that is rare amongst non-human primates. Further, my project will focus on how animals solve complementary coordination problems, where individuals have to negotiate between different activities which are not beneficial for all group members to the same extent. To answer these questions, I study common marmosets in different situations and with different tasks, mainly focusing on the involvement of vocalizations in the different processes of group coordination

Zürcher, Y., Willems, E.P., Burkart J.M. (in press). Are dialects socially learned in marmoset monkeys? Evidence from translocation experiments. PLOS one.
    
Burkart, J.M., Martins, E. G., Miss, F., & Zürcher, Y. (2018). From sharing food to sharing information. Interaction Studies, 19(1-2), 136-150.
https://doi.org/10.1075/is.17026.bur

Ruch, H., Zürcher, Y., & Burkart, J. M. (2018). The function and mechanism of vocal accommodation in humans and other primates. Biological Reviews. 93(2):996-1013.
https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.1238

Zürcher, Y., & Burkart, J. M. (2017). Dialects in marmoset monkeys? Evidence from three captive populations. International Journal of Primatology. 38(4):780-93
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9979-4

Riebli, T., Taborsky, M., Chervet, N., Apolloni, N., Zürcher, Y., & Heg, D. (2012). Behavioural type, status and social context affect behaviour and resource allocation in cooperatively breeding cichlids. Animal behaviour, 84(4), 925-936.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.07.017