Birth seasonality and interbirth interval of captive Rhinopithecus bieti

Abstract

This study, which is based on 10 years of birth records, shows that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) in captivity display marked birth seasonality. The birth season starts in December and ends in June, with a peak from March to May, and a median birth date of April 10. More male infants than female ones are born in captivity. More males were born at the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) than at the Kunming Zoo (KZ). Of 17 interbirth intervals (IBIs), 29% were from females that had lost an infant at <1 year of age or experienced stillbirth, and 71% were from females whose infant survived more than 1 year. The mean IBI for the former group (428+/-SD 87 days) was significantly shorter than that for the latter group (706+/-71 days), in agreement with reports of other Colobine species. Infant mortality was lower in captivity than in the field, which may reflect the relatively stable food availability and climate in captivity compared to the harsh conditions in the wild.

Maternal parity influences the birth sex ratio and birth interval of captive Francois’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)

“…This is the first study to examine the effects of maternal age and parity on the reproduction strategies of Francois' langurs, albeit from captive populations. In primates in general, there is no consistent birth sex ratio, suggesting that it is determined by the interaction between female condition and resource availability, although a balanced ratio of male to female offspring occurs in most primate species (Ostner et al, 2005;Shelmidine et al, 2009), with a male-bias reported in some studies (Cui et al, 2006;Rapaport et al, 2013). Overall, the birth sex ratio of captive Francois' langurs is balanced in this study, consistent with a previous study of this langur species (Gao, 2014).…”

Maternal parity influences the birth sex ratio and birth interval of captive Francois’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)

“…This is the first study to examine the effects of maternal age and parity on the reproduction strategies of Francois' langurs, albeit from captive populations. In primates in general, there is no consistent birth sex ratio, suggesting that it is determined by the interaction between female condition and resource availability, although a balanced ratio of male to female offspring occurs in most primate species (Ostner et al, 2005;Shelmidine et al, 2009), with a male-bias reported in some studies (Cui et al, 2006;Rapaport et al, 2013). Overall, the birth sex ratio of captive Francois' langurs is balanced in this study, consistent with a previous study of this langur species (Gao, 2014).…”

An examination of factors potentially influencing birth distributions in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

“…In their natural environment, R. roxellana mainly give birth during March through May, which is 2–4 months prior to the short period of highest food availability reported to occur at two field sites, Shennongjia ( Li, 2006 ), and Qinling ( Guo, Li & Watanabe, 2007 ), where R. roxellana have been studied. This result is also in keeping with the birth seasonality reported in R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ), Cebus capucinus ( Carnegie, Fedigan & Melin, 2011 ), Colobus badius ( Struhsaker, 1975 ), Semnopithecus entellus ( Lewis & Kappeler, 2005b ), Trachypithecus pileata ( Stanford, 1991 ), Procolobus verus ( Korstjens, 2001 ) and Macaca assamensis ( Heesen et al, 2013 ). However, the period of weaning in R. roxellana is adjusted to a period of high food availability ( Stanford, 1991 ).…”

“…This strategy take the advantage of both capital and income breeder. The same reproductive are also reported in both captive and natural population of R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ).…”

Reproductive Parameters of Wild Rhinopithecus bieti

“…Even Birth Sex Ratio and Lower Infant Mortality in R. bieti Females in good condition tend to produce more sons than daughters in polygynous species [Fisher, 1930;Trivers and Willard, 1973]. However, we found a newborn sex ratio close to 1: 1 at Xiangguqing from 2010 to 2018, with no significant bias toward male infants, and the proportion of males in our study was smaller than that found in captive R. bieti [Cui et al, 2006] and wild R. roxellana [Qi et al, 2008]. Wild members of the genus Macaca seldom produce a biased sex ratio at birth, while macaques living in captivity often do [Zhao and Deng, 1988].…”

Maternal parity influences the birth sex ratio and birth interval of captive Francois’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)

“…This is the first study to examine the effects of maternal age and parity on the reproduction strategies of Francois' langurs, albeit from captive populations. In primates in general, there is no consistent birth sex ratio, suggesting that it is determined by the interaction between female condition and resource availability, although a balanced ratio of male to female offspring occurs in most primate species (Ostner et al, 2005;Shelmidine et al, 2009), with a male-bias reported in some studies (Cui et al, 2006;Rapaport et al, 2013). Overall, the birth sex ratio of captive Francois' langurs is balanced in this study, consistent with a previous study of this langur species (Gao, 2014).…”

An examination of factors potentially influencing birth distributions in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

“…In their natural environment, R. roxellana mainly give birth during March through May, which is 2–4 months prior to the short period of highest food availability reported to occur at two field sites, Shennongjia ( Li, 2006 ), and Qinling ( Guo, Li & Watanabe, 2007 ), where R. roxellana have been studied. This result is also in keeping with the birth seasonality reported in R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ), Cebus capucinus ( Carnegie, Fedigan & Melin, 2011 ), Colobus badius ( Struhsaker, 1975 ), Semnopithecus entellus ( Lewis & Kappeler, 2005b ), Trachypithecus pileata ( Stanford, 1991 ), Procolobus verus ( Korstjens, 2001 ) and Macaca assamensis ( Heesen et al, 2013 ). However, the period of weaning in R. roxellana is adjusted to a period of high food availability ( Stanford, 1991 ).…”

“…This strategy take the advantage of both capital and income breeder. The same reproductive are also reported in both captive and natural population of R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ).…”

Reproductive Parameters of Wild Rhinopithecus bieti

“…Even Birth Sex Ratio and Lower Infant Mortality in R. bieti Females in good condition tend to produce more sons than daughters in polygynous species [Fisher, 1930;Trivers and Willard, 1973]. However, we found a newborn sex ratio close to 1: 1 at Xiangguqing from 2010 to 2018, with no significant bias toward male infants, and the proportion of males in our study was smaller than that found in captive R. bieti [Cui et al, 2006] and wild R. roxellana [Qi et al, 2008]. Wild members of the genus Macaca seldom produce a biased sex ratio at birth, while macaques living in captivity often do [Zhao and Deng, 1988].…”

Maternal parity influences the birth sex ratio and birth interval of captive Francois’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)

“…This is the first study to examine the effects of maternal age and parity on the reproduction strategies of Francois' langurs, albeit from captive populations. In primates in general, there is no consistent birth sex ratio, suggesting that it is determined by the interaction between female condition and resource availability, although a balanced ratio of male to female offspring occurs in most primate species (Ostner et al, 2005;Shelmidine et al, 2009), with a male-bias reported in some studies (Cui et al, 2006;Rapaport et al, 2013). Overall, the birth sex ratio of captive Francois' langurs is balanced in this study, consistent with a previous study of this langur species (Gao, 2014).…”

An examination of factors potentially influencing birth distributions in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

“…In their natural environment, R. roxellana mainly give birth during March through May, which is 2–4 months prior to the short period of highest food availability reported to occur at two field sites, Shennongjia ( Li, 2006 ), and Qinling ( Guo, Li & Watanabe, 2007 ), where R. roxellana have been studied. This result is also in keeping with the birth seasonality reported in R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ), Cebus capucinus ( Carnegie, Fedigan & Melin, 2011 ), Colobus badius ( Struhsaker, 1975 ), Semnopithecus entellus ( Lewis & Kappeler, 2005b ), Trachypithecus pileata ( Stanford, 1991 ), Procolobus verus ( Korstjens, 2001 ) and Macaca assamensis ( Heesen et al, 2013 ). However, the period of weaning in R. roxellana is adjusted to a period of high food availability ( Stanford, 1991 ).…”

“…This strategy take the advantage of both capital and income breeder. The same reproductive are also reported in both captive and natural population of R. bieti ( Cui et al, 2006 ; Xiang & Sayers, 2009 ).…”

Reproductive Parameters of Wild Rhinopithecus bieti

“…Even Birth Sex Ratio and Lower Infant Mortality in R. bieti Females in good condition tend to produce more sons than daughters in polygynous species [Fisher, 1930;Trivers and Willard, 1973]. However, we found a newborn sex ratio close to 1: 1 at Xiangguqing from 2010 to 2018, with no significant bias toward male infants, and the proportion of males in our study was smaller than that found in captive R. bieti [Cui et al, 2006] and wild R. roxellana [Qi et al, 2008]. Wild members of the genus Macaca seldom produce a biased sex ratio at birth, while macaques living in captivity often do [Zhao and Deng, 1988].…”