Abnormal Menstrual Cycles in the Female Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

Mitchell, W. R.; Loskutoff, N.M.; Czekala, Nancy M.; Lasley, Bill L.

doi:10.2307/20094606

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…[123][124][125] Some of these female gorillas have experienced chronic low fertility. Analysis of monthly hormonal profiles shows that several females have luteal-phase defects similar to those reported as consequences of dieting and exercise.…”

Section: Apesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aping our ancestors: Comparative aspects of reproductive ecology

Bentley

1999

Evol. Anthropol.

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There are many similarities among mammalian species in how ecological factors affect their reproductive potential and individual life histories. One of the most important limiting factors is the availability of sufficient resources to partition among essential growth, maintenance, and eventual reproduction.1–3 How each mammal juggles these constraints constitutes its unique life history and determines its success as a species. Yet, as Hill and Hurtado4 recently argued, life‐history analyses are rarely applied to human reproduction. In fact, despite the demonstrated significance of adequate nutrition for reproductive performance among most mammalian species that have been studied,1,3,5 many demographers, and even some biological anthropologists, have resisted the idea that humans, except under extreme famine conditions, might be subject to the same kinds of nutritional constraints that affect other mammals.6–9.

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Section: Apesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aping our ancestors: Comparative aspects of reproductive ecology

Bentley

1999

Evol. Anthropol.

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“…Yet, with few exceptions, most work on reproductive aging in primates has focused on macaques [e.g., Graham et al, 1979;Small, 1984;Walker, 1995;Johnson & Kapsalis, 1998;Pavelka & Fedigan, 1999;Shideler et al, 2001]. Numerous cross-sectional reproductive hormonal studies based on one or two menstrual cycles in female apes have been conducted, but none of these included aged (Z35 years old) gorillas as their subjects [e.g., Nadler, 1975Nadler, , 1980Graham, 1979;Lasley et al, 1982;Mitchell et al, 1982;Dahl et al, 1987;Bellem et al, 1995;Takahata et al, 1995;Jurke et al, 2001a;Miyamoto et al, 2001].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual behavior and hormonal estrus cycles in captive aged lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla)

Atsalis

Margulis

Bellem

et al. 2004

American J Primatol

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To evaluate whether observed cycles in proceptive behavior in aging lowland gorilla females (age 40+) at Brookfield Zoo were driven by ovarian activity, we compared monthly behavioral data to estradiol and progestogen cycles based on fecal hormone assessments. Progestogen peaks showed regularity and close coincidence with monthly sexual behaviors. Estradiol was more variable. Progestogen peaks varied between 22+/-5 days for the control female (29 years old), to 24+/-2.5 and 29+/-8 for the two aged subjects. In the first aged female, which was housed with other females and a silverback, the high degree of cyclicity in sexual behavior, regularity of progestogen cycles, and close concordance between hormonal cycling and sexual behavior strongly compared to patterns found (in this and other studies) in gorilla females <35 years old. Cyclical progestogen peaks were longer and more variable in the second aged female-perhaps because she lacked the social mediation of other females or a male. For husbandry reasons she is not housed with the gorilla group, behavioral data were not collected from her. The value of our longitudinal study is in obtaining reproductive profiles of primate females that are approaching maximum lifespan. This pilot study is part of a larger research project on reproductive senescence that will include other captive females >35 years old, a population that is rapidly increasing in North American zoos as gorillas continue to age.

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“…While 276 females in zoological institutions were registered with the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) in 1990, only 103 offspring were born from 1985-1989 (average 20.6 offspring/year), resulting in less than 1 in 5 animals reproducing per year. Behavioral incompatibilities and captive stress may have a detrimental effect on propagation; however, aberrant reproductive function of the menstrual cycle (e.g., luteal phase deficiencies and prolonged cycle length) also contribute to infertility in this species [Mitchell et al, 1982a;Czekala et al, 19891. Development of strategies to alleviate these reproductive dysfunctions, perhaps through protocols devised for infertile humans, may aid captive breeding efforts in the gorilla.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Urinary endocrine monitoring has been useful in gorillas for identifying normal menstrual cycle endocrine profiles [Lasley et al, 1982;Mitchell et al, 1982b;Czekala et al, 19881 as well as abnormal patterns such as prolonged inter-follicular phases (cycle length > 45 days), a condition observed in some infertile females of this species [Mitchell et al, 1982a;Czekala et al, 19891. At the time of this study, the Metro Toronto Zoo maintained a social group of five adult, female lowland gorillas, one juvenile female, and one adult, proven male.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective suppression of ovarian cyclicity in the lowland gorilla with an oral contraceptive

1992

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To determine the effects of a human oral contraceptive on normal and abnormal reproductive endocrine patterns in two lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), daily urine samples were analyzed by radioimmunoassay for estrone conjugates (EC) and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG). During a pre-treatment period one female (Fl) demonstrated regular menstrual cycles averaging 27.6 * 1.8 days, whereas ovarian cyclicity in female 2 (F2) was consistently prolonged, ranging from 37-51 days. A 56 day regimen of an oral contraceptive (Demulen 50@) was administered to both females beginning in the late luteal phase, and within 6 and 7 days of treatment onset (F1 and F2, respectively) urinary EC and PdG declined to and remained at concentrations consistent with amenorrhea throughout the administration period. Ten and twenty days after contraceptive withdrawal (F1 and F2, respectively) an EC peak was observed with subsequent PdG elevations 1-2 days later. Mean cycle length and luteal phase durations were not different (P > 0.05) before or after treatment for either female, while combined peak PdG concentrations were greater (P < 0.05) for the first 3 months after treatment compared to pre-treatment values. These results indicate that a human oral contraceptive rapidly suppresses ovarian activity in female lowland gorillas, but that the abnormal endocrine pattern observed in F2 could not be redirected into a normal profile after contraceptive withdrawal. o 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Abnormal Menstrual Cycles in the Female Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Aping our ancestors: Comparative aspects of reproductive ecology

Aping our ancestors: Comparative aspects of reproductive ecology

Sexual behavior and hormonal estrus cycles in captive aged lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla)

Effective suppression of ovarian cyclicity in the lowland gorilla with an oral contraceptive

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