The ecology of conception and pregnancy failure in wild baboons

Beehner, Jacinta C.; Onderdonk, Daphne A.; Alberts, Susan C.; Altmann, Jeanne

doi:10.1093/beheco/arl006

Cited by 107 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…For example, females that are pregnant during the dry season simultaneously experience the hypercortisolemia of pregnancy and a stress response to the dry season. The cumulative effects of multiple challenges on GC concentrations may be sufficiently great that females are at higher risk of reproductive failure; such hypercortisolemia may contribute to the reduced rates of cycling and conception and the increased rates of fetal loss during droughts that we have documented in Amboseli (Beehner et al, 2006b). …”

Section: Environmental Conditions and Fgc Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Environmental stressors such as drought, extremes of hot or cold temperatures, and food shortage impact reproduction and behavior in many species of birds (Lynn et al 2003;Wingfield, 1984) and mammals (Bronson, 1985;Gwazdauskas, 1985;Nelson, 1993;Nelson et al, 1989), including humans (Bronson, 1995) and non-human primates (Alberts et al, 2005, Beehner et al, 2006bBrockman and van Schaik, 2005;Sapolsky, 1986). These effects are in part mediated via increases in glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations (Astheimer et al, 1992;Kitaysky et al, 2001bKitaysky et al, , 2003reviewed by Boonstra, 2004;Landys et al, 2006;Romero, 2002 andKitaysky, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coping with a challenging environment: Effects of seasonal variability and reproductive status on glucocorticoid concentrations of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Gesquiere

Khan

Shek

et al. 2008

Hormones and Behavior

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105

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Environmental stressors impact physiology and behavior in many species of animals. These effects are partly mediated through changing concentrations of glucocorticoids, which also vary with reproductive state and social conditions. Prior research has focused largely on seasonal breeders, but the close temporal linkage between season and reproductive state in these species hinders ability to disentangle environmental effects from those of the animal's reproductive status. Here we assessed the effects of environmental challenges on the fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) levels of non-seasonal breeders, female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Amboseli, Kenya. Amboseli is characterized by a long dry season, during which food and water become scarce, and by extreme temperatures above 40°C in the shade during some months of the year. We found that after accounting for female reproductive status and individual variability, females exhibited higher fGC levels during the dry season than during the wet season. Further, during the wet season, fGC levels were higher in months of high average daily maximum temperatures. During the dry season, fGC levels were elevated both in hotter months and in months during which the baboons spent a relatively high proportion of time feeding. In spite of these stressors, female baboons reproduce during all months of the year in Amboseli, unlike most other mammals in this environment. This may be attributable to their extreme adaptability, specifically their diversified diet, and their ability to modify their behavior, including their activity profiles.

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Section: Environmental Conditions and Fgc Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping with a challenging environment: Effects of seasonal variability and reproductive status on glucocorticoid concentrations of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Gesquiere

Khan

Shek

et al. 2008

Hormones and Behavior

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105

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“…First, they might discriminate against multiparous females that are experiencing nonconceptive cycles. Second, they might discriminate against adolescent females, which show lower fertility (conceive at a lower rate) than parous females (Scott 1984;Anderson 1986;Beehner et al 2006;Gesquiere et al, in press). In particular, during their first four cycles after menarche, females very rarely have a guarding male accompanying them, but beginning in approximately their fifth cycle, they are guarded at rates similar to those of multiparous females (Gesquiere et al, in press).…”

Section: Elevated Paternity Success Of High-ranking Malesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual selection in wild baboons: from mating opportunities to paternity success

2006

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In mammals, high dominance rank among males is often associated with mating success. However, mating opportunities do not automatically translate into offspring production; observed mating success may be discordant with offspring production, for three reasons.(1) Observed mating may be nonrepresentative of actual mating if some mating is surreptitious (decreasing the chance that it will be observed), (2) mating may be nonrandom if some males allocate more mating effort to females with high fertility (i.e. if some males differentially invest in higher fertility mating) and (3) conception success may be nonrandom if sperm competition or sperm selection play a role in conception. We performed a genetic analysis of paternity in the well-studied savannah baboon, Papio cynocephalus, population in the Amboseli basin, eastern Africa, in order to measure the concordance between observed mating success and actual offspring production. We found that observed mating success was generally a good predictor of paternity success, that high-ranking males had higher paternity success than lower-ranking males, and that male density and male rank stability contributed to variance in male paternity success. We found little evidence for successful surreptitious mating (although subadult males did occasionally produce offspring, apparently using this strategy), and no clear evidence for differential sperm success or sperm depletion (although we could not rule them out). However, we found clear evidence that high-ranking males showed mate choice, concentrating their mating efforts on females experiencing conceptive rather than nonconceptive cycles.

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“…Primates must make choices regarding which foods to include in their daily diet, with these choices influencing their nutritional state and ultimately their health and fitness (Altmann 1998;Beehner et al 2006). The food choices made will be determined primarily by the animal's regulatory phenotype, but constrained by the nutritional, chemical, and structural composition of the foods in the environment (Lambert 2007;Milton 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Ecology of Ateles chamek in lowland Bolivia: How Macronutrient Balancing Influences Food Choices

et al. 2009

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All free-living animals must make choices regarding which foods to eat, with the choices influencing their health and fitness. An important goal in nutritional ecology is therefore to understand what governs animals' diet selection. Despite large variation in the availability of different food items, Peruvian spider monkeys (Ateles chamek) maintain a relatively stable daily protein intake, but allow total energy intake to vary as a function of the composition of available food items. This is referred to as protein-dominated macronutrient balancing. Here we assess the influence of this nutritional strategy on daily and seasonal nutritional intakes, Int J Primatol (2009) We conducted continuous all-day observations of focal spider monkeys inhabiting a semideciduous forest in Bolivia. We recorded feeding events, collected foods, and analyzed their nutrient content. By using the Geometric Framework for nutrition, we show that individuals reached their daily end-point in nutrient space -balance between protein and nonprotein energy intake-by consuming nutritionally balanced foods or by alternating between nutritionally complementary foods. The macronutritionally balanced figs of Ficus boliviana were their primary staple food and therefore dominated their overall nutritional intake. Our results also demonstrate that spider monkeys consumed a diverse array of ripe fruits to overcome periods of fig scarcity rather than vice versa; they could obtain sufficient protein on a diet of pure fruit; and unripe figs constituted a nutritionally rewarding and reliable food resource. We hope that the approaches taken and the conclusions reached in this study will catalyze further inquiries into the nutritional ecology of frugivorous primates.

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The ecology of conception and pregnancy failure in wild baboons

Cited by 107 publications

References 68 publications

Coping with a challenging environment: Effects of seasonal variability and reproductive status on glucocorticoid concentrations of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Coping with a challenging environment: Effects of seasonal variability and reproductive status on glucocorticoid concentrations of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Sexual selection in wild baboons: from mating opportunities to paternity success

Nutritional Ecology of Ateles chamek in lowland Bolivia: How Macronutrient Balancing Influences Food Choices

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