Seasonality of primate births in relation to climate

Janson, Charles H.; Verdolin, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511542343.012

Cited by 109 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Because energy has significant proximate effects at multiple points in the life history, it is a critical determinant of reproductive success. The conservative strategy employed by chimpanzees is in contrast to the income breeding strategy typical of many smaller primates who can exploit predictable seasons of food abundance [Nash, 1984;Di Bitetti & Janson, 2000;Janson & Verdolin, 2005]. However, there is evidence for functionally similar strategies in other large-bodied primates who share complex and/or unpredictable foraging environments, such as orangutans [Knott, 2001], baboons [Altmann & Alberts, 2003a, 2003bBercovitch, 1987;Bercovitch & Strum, 1993], long-tailed macaques [van Schaik & Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reproductive Ecology of Female Chimpanzees

Thompson

2012

American J Primatol

104

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An important adaptive problem for mammals in general, and primates in particular, is how females can manage the high costs of reproduction in the face of fluctuating energetic supplies. For many species, the best solution is to breed seasonally such that high costs are temporally coincident with predictable periods of resource abundance. This is an unreliable strategy for some primates, such as chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), for which large body size forces an increase in dietary complexity and prolonged reproductive efforts. Here, I review data on reproductive function in chimpanzees, a species that demonstrates a risk-averse reproductive strategy wherein reproductive investment is allocated in accordance with maternal condition. Life history parameters for chimpanzees indicate that most females produce very few surviving offspring. However, comparisons between captive and wild populations and within wild populations illustrate that variation in resource access leads to highly variable reproductive success. Focused hormonal studies have demonstrated these effects at a proximate level, with energetic influences on female dispersal, receptivity, cycle quality, conception success, and lactational amenorrhea. Downstream of these effects, female reproductive function affects sexual attractiveness, and by virtue of males' own optimal reproductive strategies, can lead to coercive aggression and decreased foraging efficiency. Because of their extreme reproductive costs, female chimpanzees utilize a highly conservative reproductive strategy, one that minimizes the costs of ecological variation but makes them vulnerable to sexual conflict and costs of sociality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Income breeding is generally not a viable strategy for larger primates, such as apes Janson & Verdolin, 2005]. First, larger primates take longer to grow, and these extended periods of growth and dependency extend beyond any single season of resource abundance.…”

Section: Reproductive Energeticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Ecology of Female Chimpanzees

Thompson

2012

American J Primatol

104

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“…These results were not surprising; earlier studies on R. bieti (Xiang and Sayers 2009), R. roxellana (Zhang et al 2000;Ren et al 2003;Qi et al 2008), and R. brelichi (Yang et al 2009) have shown similar seasonality and annual birth rates within the genus. For primates, especially at the higher latitudes where temperatures and food resources undergo pronounced seasonal fluctuations, most species exhibit seasonality in breeding (Brockman and van Schaik 2005;Janson and Verdolin 2005). The ultimate factors governing seasonality are likely to include adequate temperatures for infant survival, and sufficient food resources available to support the metabolic demands of lactation and development of the offspring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality of reproduction of wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Mt. Lasha, Yunnan, China

et al. 2012

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“…The much-larger western part is extremely seasonal within a year for such latitudes but more predictable between years. In response, lemurs have evolved a great variety of special adaptations to cope with the seasonality of their environment (Ganzhorn et al 1999;Wright 1999): almost all species show extreme birth seasonality (Janson and Verdolin 2005), the basal metabolic rates of most species are below those of haplorrhine primates (Genoud 2002), and the only two species of primates that show torpor or hibernation are lemurs (Dausmann et al 2004;Schülke and Ostner 2007). As lemurs are thus a highly diverse group of primates, it is necessary to test whether environmental seasonality is a good proxy for energy intake or whether we must use more direct measure of experienced seasonality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Seasonality on Brain Size Evolution: Evidence from Strepsirrhine Primates

Woerden

Schaik

Isler

2010

The American Naturalist

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Seasonal changes in energy supply impose energetic constraints that affect many physiological and behavioral characteristics of organisms. As brains are costly, we predict brain size to be relatively small in species that experience a higher degree of seasonality (expensive brain framework). Alternatively, it has been argued that larger brains give animals the behavioral flexibility to buffer the effects of habitat seasonality (cognitive buffer hypothesis). Here, we test these two hypotheses in a comparative study on strepsirrhine primates (African lorises and Malagasy lemurs) that experience widely varying degrees of seasonality. We found that experienced seasonality is negatively correlated with relative brain size in both groups, controlling for the effect of phylogenetic relationships and possible confounding variables such as the extent of folivory. However, relatively larger-brained lemur species tend to experience less variation in their dietary intake than indicated by the seasonality of their habitat. In conclusion, we found clear support for the hypothesis that seasonality restricts brain size in strepsirrhines as predicted by the expensive brain framework and weak support for the cognitive buffer hypothesis in lemurs. Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland Submitted March 29, 2010; Accepted August 16, 2010; Electronically published October 20, 2010 Online enhancement: appendix.abstract: Seasonal changes in energy supply impose energetic constraints that affect many physiological and behavioral characteristics of organisms. As brains are costly, we predict brain size to be relatively small in species that experience a higher degree of seasonality (expensive brain framework). Alternatively, it has been argued that larger brains give animals the behavioral flexibility to buffer the effects of habitat seasonality (cognitive buffer hypothesis). Here, we test these two hypotheses in a comparative study on strepsirrhine primates (African lorises and Malagasy lemurs) that experience widely varying degrees of seasonality. We found that experienced seasonality is negatively correlated with relative brain size in both groups, controlling for the effect of phylogenetic relationships and possible confounding variables such as the extent of folivory. However, relatively largerbrained lemur species tend to experience less variation in their dietary intake than indicated by the seasonality of their habitat. In conclusion, we found clear support for the hypothesis that seasonality restricts brain size in strepsirrhines as predicted by the expensive brain framework and weak support for the cognitive buffer hypothesis in lemurs.

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Seasonality of primate births in relation to climate

Cited by 109 publications

References 43 publications

Reproductive Ecology of Female Chimpanzees

Reproductive Ecology of Female Chimpanzees

Seasonality of reproduction of wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Mt. Lasha, Yunnan, China

Effects of Seasonality on Brain Size Evolution: Evidence from Strepsirrhine Primates

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