Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi

Richard, Alison F.; Dewar, Robert E.; Schwartz, Michael R.; Ratsirarson, J.

doi:10.1006/jhev.2000.0427

Cited by 182 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(47 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

156

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It has been suggested that mid/late lactation is the most demanding stage for female mammals (Coelho, 1974; Payne & Wheeler, 1968). Since the availability of foods with easily digestible carbohydrates such as fruits is concentrated in a short period of the year in Madagascar (Janson & Verdolin, 2005; Wright, 1999), sifakas have to strategically adjust the reproductive stages, in particular the most demanding ones, across fluctuations in food availability (Richard et al, 2000; Wright, 1999). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, females can store energy from the periods of high food availability in order to pay for the costs of reproduction in periods of low food availability, following then the capital breeding strategy. It has been debated if sifakas are following a capital or an income breeding strategy, and there is no consensus on this aspect up to this date (Janson & Verdolin, 2005; Lewis & Kappeler, 2005a, 2005b; Richard et al, 2000; Van Schaik & Brockman, 2005; Wright, 1999). Reproductive females in our study indeed increased their food intake during the most demanding period of reproduction (late lactation).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although we did not include measurements of body mass in our study as an indicator of storing energy, previous studies already showed that both male and female sifakas lose weight during the dry season and gain weight during the wet season (Lewis & Kappeler, 2005a; Richard et al, 2000). This pattern of seasonal oscillation in body mass is in fact more accentuated in females (Meyers & Wright, 1993; Richard et al, 2000, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Richard, Dewar, Schwartz, and Ratsirarson (2000) sifakas are capital breeders, with females storing energy during the wet season to cope with the scarcity of food and the expenses of reproduction over the dry season. In contrast, Lewis and Kappeler (2005a) classified sifakas as “classic breeders.” This classification is very similar to the definition of income breeding, where females synchronize the most demanding portion of their reproduction (mid/late lactation) with the period of highest availability of food.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies investigated the impact of seasonality on the diet and nutrient intake in sifakas (Hemingway, 1999; Irwin, Raharison, Raubenheimeir, Chapman, & Rothman, 2014; Lewis & Kappeler, 2005a, 2005b; Norscia, Carrai, & Borgognini‐Tarli, 2006; Richard et al, 2000), showing that they had lower intake of food and macronutrients during the dry season. However, detailed information on sex differences in the diet and nutrient intake across reproductive seasons is still missing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Sex and seasonal differences in diet and nutrient intake in Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi)

Koch

Ganzhorn

Rothman

et al. 2016

American J Primatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fluctuations in food availability are a major challenge faced by primates living in seasonal climates. Variation in food availability can be especially challenging for females, because of the high energetic costs of reproduction. Therefore, females must adapt the particular demands of the different reproductive stages to the seasonal availability of resources. Madagascar has a highly seasonal climate, where food availability can be extremely variable. We investigated the seasonal changes in diet composition, nutrient and energy intake of female and male sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) in a dry deciduous forest in western Madagascar. We examined how females adjust their diet to different reproductive stages. Seasonality affected the diet of both sexes; particularly in the dry season (Apr–Oct) with low availability of food items, especially fruits, males and females had a reduced nutrient and energy intake compared to the wet season (Nov–Mar) with higher food and fruit availability. The comparison of the diet between sexes in different reproductive stages showed that during the late stage of lactation (Nov–Jan) females had higher food intake, and as a result they had a higher intake of macronutrients (crude protein, fat and non‐structured carbohydrates (TNC)) and energy than males. These differences were not present during the pregnancy of females, with both sexes having similar intake of macronutrients and energy during that stage. The increase in the intake of macronutrients observed for females during late lactation could be related to the higher energetic demands of this stage of reproduction. Thus, the observed pattern in the diet indicates that sifaka females are following a capital breeding strategy, whereby females potentially store enough nutrients to cope with the reproduction costs in periods of low food availability.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sex and seasonal differences in diet and nutrient intake in Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi)

Koch

Ganzhorn

Rothman

et al. 2016

American J Primatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

R ichard, A lison

Pyle¹

2017

The International Encyclopedia of Primatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Comparative and evolutionary dimensions of the energetics of human pregnancy and lactation

Dufour

Sauther

2002

American J Hum Biol

264

198

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of this article is to compare the energetics of reproduction for human and other primates in order to evaluate the extent to which human reproductive energetics are distinct from other primates and other large-bodied placental mammals. The article also evaluates the energetics of human and primate gestation and lactation using data from a variety of different populations living under different environmental circumstances. Energetics refers to energy intake and expenditure, and changes in body fat stores. Human and nonhuman primates have longer periods of gestation and lactation and slower prenatal and postnatal growth than other mammals of similar size. This reduces daily maternal energy costs. The development of sizable fat stores is not unique to humans, but fat stores are typically greater in human females and may play a greater role in reproduction. The strategies used to meet the energy costs of pregnancy vary among populations of humans and nonhuman primates and among humans interindividual variability is high. In pregnancy, some increase energy intake but others apparently do not. Increases in metabolic efficiency are evident in some human populations, whereas decreases in physical activity occur, but are not seen in all human or primate populations. Lactation is more energetically costly on a daily basis among humans and nonhuman primates, but has not been as well studied. It appears that both nonhuman and human primates tend to increase energy intake to meet in part the cost of lactation. They also use other strategies such as relying on body tissue stores, reductions in physical activity, and/or increases in metabolic efficiency to meet the remainder of the cost. It is also clear that human females in different populations and different women in the same population use a different combination of strategies to meet the cost of lactation.

show abstract

Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi

Cited by 182 publications

References 40 publications

Sex and seasonal differences in diet and nutrient intake in Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi)

Sex and seasonal differences in diet and nutrient intake in Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi)

R ichard, A lison

Comparative and evolutionary dimensions of the energetics of human pregnancy and lactation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About