Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-jwnkl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T15:26:32.390Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - Seasonality of primate births in relation to climate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2009

By
Charles Janson  and
Jennifer Verdolin
Edited by
Diane K. Brockman  and
Carel P. van Schaik
Charles Janson
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolution State University of New York, Stony Brook NY 11794–5245 USA
Jennifer Verdolin
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolution State University of New York, Stony Brook NY 11794–5245 USA
Diane K. Brockman
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Carel P. van Schaik
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Get access

Summary

Introduction

It is well established that most primate populations show at least some seasonality in the frequency of births (Lancaster & Lee 1965; Lindburg 1987; Di Bitetti & Janson 2000). There are two major questions concerning this seasonality: (i) what determines the narrowness of the peak (if there is one)?, and (ii) what determines when the peak occurs? Because these two questions deal with distinct kinds of hypotheses and data analyses, we will treat them separately. In this chapter, we attempt to cover the background, current hypotheses, and observed patterns for each topic by analyzing quantitative birth data on 70 wild populations of primates; there are many more data sets on captive primates, but we do not deal with those here. To streamline the presentation, the details of how we acquired the data set and performed statistical analyses are given in Appendix 11.1. We conclude with a brief summary of the results and implications for primate responses to seasonal variation in general.

Before discussing adaptive hypotheses for birth seasonality, it is important to distinguish seasonality from synchrony. The patterns and causes of these two phenomena are distinct. High seasonality in births necessarily will produce a high level of synchrony, but the reverse is not true. Births can be synchronized within a group but less synchronized between groups. Factors that favor or cause within-group synchrony of births, such as predation on infants (Boinski 1987) and infanticide (Butynski 1982), may show little seasonality and thus may not select for high population-wide seasonality of births (Di Bitetti & Janson 2000).

Type
Chapter
Information
Seasonality in Primates
Studies of Living and Extinct Human and Non-Human Primates
 , pp. 307 - 350
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altmann, J. (1980). Baboon Mothers and Infants. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Batschelet, E. (1981). Circular Statistics in Biology. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bentley-Condit, V. K. & Smith, E. O. (1997). Female reproductive parameters of Tana river yellow baboons. International Journal of Primatology, 18, 581–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bercovitch, F. B. & Harding, R. S. O. (1993). Annual birth patterns of savanna baboons (Papio cynocephalus annubis) over a ten-year period at Gigil, Kenya. Folia Primatologica, 61, 115–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boinski, S. (1987). Birth synchrony in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedi): a strategy to reduce neonatal predation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 21, 393–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourliere, F., Hunkeler, C., & Bertrand, M. (1970). Ecology and behavior of Lowe's Guenon (Cercopithecus campbelli lowei) in the Ivory Coast. In Old World Monkeys, ed. Napier, J. R. and Napier, P. H.. New York: Academic Press, pp. 297–350.Google Scholar
Bronson, F. H. (1989). Mammalian Reproductive Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Butynski, T. M. (1982). Harem-male replacement and infanticide in the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitus stuhlmanni) in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. American Journal of Primatology, 3, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butynski, T. M.(1988). Guenon birth seasons and correlates with rainfall and food. In A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, ed. Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J.-P., Kingdon, J.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 284–322.Google Scholar
Caldecott, J. O. (1986). An ecological and behavioural study of the pig-tailed macaque. Contributions to Primatology, 21, 1–259.Google Scholar
Chapman, C. A., Wrangham, R. W., & Chapman, L. J. (1994). Indices of habitat-wide fruit abundance in tropical forests. Biotropica, 26, 160–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charles-Dominique, P. (1977). Ecology and Behavior of Nocturnal Primates: Prosimians of Equatorial West Africa. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Chism, J., Rowell, T., & Olson, D. (1984). Life history patterns of female patas monkeys. In Female Primates: Studies by Women Primatologists, ed. Small, M. F.. New York: Alan R. Liss, pp. 175–90.Google Scholar
Crockett, C. M. & Rudran, R. (1987). Red howler monkey birth data I: seasonal variation. American Journal of Primatology, 13, 347–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, D. J. & Zaramody, A. (1999). Social structure and seasonal variation in the behaviour of Eulemur mongoz. Folia Primatologica, 70, 79–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Di Bitetti, M. S. & Janson, C. H. (2000). When will the stork arrive? Patterns of birth seasonality in Neotropical primates. American Journal of Primatology, 50, 109–30.3.0.CO;2-W>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dittus, W. P. J. (1977). The social regulation of population density and age–sex distribution in the toque monkey. Behaviour, 63, 281–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, R. I. M. & Dunbar, P. (1975). Social dynamics of gelada baboons. Contributions to Primatology, 6, i–viii, 1–157.Google ScholarPubMed
Fernandez-Duque, E., Rotundo, M., & Ramirez-Llorens, P. (2002). Environmental determinants of birth seasonality in night monkeys (Aotus azarai) of the Argentinean chaco. International Journal of Primatology, 23, 639–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldizen, A. W., Terborgh, J. W., Cornejo, F., Porras, D. T., & Evans, R. (1988). Seasonal food shortage, weight loss, and the timing of births in saddle-back tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis). Journal of Animal Ecology, 57, 893–901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodall, J. (1983). Population dynamics during a 15 year period in one community of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Zeitschrift Tierpsychologie, 61, 1–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey P. H., Martin, R. D., & Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1987). Life histories in comparative perspective. In Primate Societies, ed. Smuts, B. B., Cheney, D. L., Seyfarth, R. M., Wrangham, R. W., & Struhsaker, T. T.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 181–96.Google Scholar
Henzi, S. P., Byrne, R. W., & Whiten, A. (1992). Patterns of movement by baboons in the Drakensberg mountains: primary responses to the environment. International Journal of Primatology, 13, 601–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, M. J., Agoramoorthy, G., & Lin, J. F. (2001). Birth seasonality and interbirth intervals in free-ranging Formosan macaques, Macaca cyclopis, at Mt. Longevity, Taiwan. Primates, 42, 15–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judge, D. S. & Carey, J. R. (2000). Postreproductive life predicted by primate patterns. Journals of Gerontology, A55, B201–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jupp, P. E. & Mardia, K. V. (1980). A general correlation coefficient for directional data and related regression problems. Biometrika, 67, 163–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kawai, M., Azuma, S., & Yoshiba, K. (1967). Ecological studies of reproduction in Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata). I. Problems of the birth season. Primates, 8, 35–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, R. F. (1984). On the use of anatomical features to infer foraging behavior in extinct primates. In Adaptations for Foraging in Nonhuman Primates: Contributions to an Organismal Biology of Prosimians, Monkeys, and Apes, ed. Rodman, P. S. & Cant, J. G. H.. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 21–53.Google Scholar
Klein, L. L. (1971). Observations on copulation and seasonal reproduction of two species of spider monkeys, Ateles belzebuth and A. geoffroyi. Folia Primatologica, 15, 233–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenig, A., Borries, C., Chalise, M. K., & Winkler, P. (1997). Ecology, nutrition, and timing of reproductive events in an Asian primate, the hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus). Journal of Zoology, London, 243, 215–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korstjens, A. H. (2001). The mob, the secret sorority, and the phantoms: an analysis of the socio-ecological strategies of the three colobines of Taï. Ph.D. thesis, Utrecht University.
Kumar, A. & Kurup, G. U. (1985). Sexual behavior of the lion-tailed macaque, Macaca silenus. In The Lion-Tailed Macaque: Status and Conservation, ed. Heltne, P. G.. New York: Liss, pp. 109–30.Google Scholar
Lancaster, J. B. & Lee, R. B. (1965). The annual reproductive cycle in monkeys and apes. In Primate Behavior: Field Studies of Monkeys and Apes, ed. Vore, I.. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, pp. 486–513.Google Scholar
Lindburg, D. G. (1987). Seasonality of reproduction in primates. In Comparative Primate Biology, Vol. 2B, ed. Mitchell, E. J.. New York: Alan R. Liss, pp. 167–218.Google Scholar
Lycett, J. E., Weingrill, T., & Henzi, S. P. (1999). Birth patterns in the Drakensberg mountain baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus). South African Journal of Science, 95, 354–6.Google Scholar
MacRoberts, M. H. & MacRoberts, B. R. (1966). Annual reproductive cycle of barbary ape (Macaca sylvana) in Gibraltar. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 25, 299–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menard, N. & Vallet, D. (1993). Population dynamics of Macaca sylvanus in Algeria: a 8-year study. American Journal of Primatology, 30, 101–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishida, T., Takasaki, H., & Takahata, Y. (1990). Demography and reproductive profiles. In The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains: Sexual and Life History Strategies, ed. Nishida, T.. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, pp. 63–97.Google Scholar
Oi, T. (1996). Sexual behaviour and mating system of the wild pig-tailed macaque in West Sumatra. In Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies, ed. Fa, J. E. & Lindburg, D. G.. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 342–68.Google Scholar
Okamoto, K., Matsumura, S., & Wantanabe, K. (2000). Life history and demography of wild moor macaques (Macaca maurus): summary of ten years of observations. American Journal of Primatology, 52, 1–11.3.0.CO;2-F>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omar, A. & Vos, A. (1971). The annual reproductive cycle of an African monkey (Cercopithecus mitis kolbi Neuman). Folia Primatologica, 16, 206–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pereira, M. E. (1993). Seasonal adjustment of growth rate and adult body weight in ringtailed lemurs. In Lemur Social Systems and Their Ecological Basis, ed. Kappeler, P. M. & Ganzhorn, J. U.. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 205–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullen, S. L., Bearder, S. K., & Dixson, A. F.(2000). Preliminary observations on sexual behavior and the mating system in free-ranging lesser galagos (Galago moholi). American Journal of Primatology, 51, 79–88.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahaman, H. & Parthasarathy, M. D. (1969). Studies on the social behavior of bonnet monkeys. Primates, 10, 149–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richard, A. F., Dewar, R. E., Schwartz, M., & Ratsirarson, J. (2000). Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi. Journal of Human Evolution, 39, 381–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, C. (1992). Basal metabolic rate, body weight and diet in primates: an evaluation of the evidence. Folia Primatologica, 58, 7–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, C. & Jones, K. E. (1999). Socioecology and the evolution of primate reproductive rates. In Comparative Primate Socioecology, ed. Lee, P. C.. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, pp. 73–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudran, R. (1973). The reproductive cycles of two subspecies of purple-faced langurs (Presbytis senes) with relation to the environmental factors. Folia Primatologica, 19, 41–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudran, R.(1978). Socioecology of the blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) of the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 249, 1–88.Google Scholar
Ruhiyat, Y. (1983). Socio-ecological study of Presbytis aygula in West Java. Primates, 24, 344–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, S. (1956). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A. R. E., Mduma, S. A. R., & Arcese, P. (2000). What determines phenology and synchrony of ungulate breeding in Serengeti?Ecology, 81, 2100–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanford, C. B. (1991). The Capped Langur in Bangladesh: Behavioral Ecology and Reproductive Tactics. Basel, Switzerland: S. Karger.
Strier, K. B., Mendes, S. L., & Santos, R. R. (2001). Timing of births in sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus). American Journal of Primatology, 55, 87–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Struhsaker, T. T. (1967). Ecology of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) in the Masai-Amboseli Game Reserve, Kenya. Ecology, 48, 891–904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Struhsaker, T. T. (1975). The Red Colobus Monkey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Struhsaker, T. T.(1977). Infanticide and social organization in the redtail monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 45, 75–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaik, C. P. & Noordwijk, M. A. (1985). Interannual variability in fruit abundance and the reproductive seasonality in Sumatran long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Journal of Zoology, London, 206, 533–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaik, C. P., Terborgh, J. W., & Wright, S. J. (1993). The phenology of tropical forests: adaptive significance and consequences for primary consumers. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 24, 353–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watts, D. P. (1998). Seasonality in the ecology and life histories of mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei). International Journal of Primatology, 19, 929–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, P. C. (1985). The costs and benefits of nocturnality for Aotus trivirgatus (the night monkeys). Anthropology. New York: City University of New York.Google Scholar
Wright, P. C.(1999). Lemur traits and Madagascar ecology: coping with an island environment. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 42, 31–72.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, H. & Lin, Y. (1992). Life history varibles of wild troops of Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) in Kentung, Taiwan. Primates, 33, 85–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Q. & Deng, Z. (1988). Macaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China: II. Birth seasonality. American Journal of Primatology, 16, 261–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×