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- Title
Reproductive seasonality in two sympatric primates (Ateles belzebuth and Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii) from Amazonian Ecuador.
- Authors
Ellis, Kelsey M.; Abondano, Laura A.; Montes‐Rojas, Andrés; Link, Andrés; Di Fiore, Anthony
- Abstract
With their large body size and "slow" life histories, atelin primates are thought to follow a risk‐averse breeding strategy, similar to capital breeders, in which they accumulate energy reserves in anticipation of future reproductive events such as gestation and lactation. However, given the paucity of longitudinal data from wild populations, few studies to date have been able to compare the timing of reproductive events (e.g., copulations, conceptions, and births) in relation to shifting resource availability over multiple years. We examined the reproductive patterns of two atelin species—white‐bellied spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) and lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii)—in relation to habitat‐wide estimates of fruit availability at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) in Amazonian Ecuador. Our sample included 4 years of data on births (N = 36) and copulations (N = 170) for Lagothrix, 10 years of data on births (N = 35) and copulations (N = 74) for Ateles, and 7 years of data on ripe fruit availability. Reproductive events were distinctly seasonal. For both species, births were concentrated between May and September, a time period in which ripe fruit was relatively scarce, while inferred conceptions occurred between September and January, when ripe fruit availability was increasing and maintained at high‐levels throughout the forest. Interannual variation in births was relatively stable, except for in 2016 when twice as many infants were born following a strong El Niño event that may have led to unusually high levels of fruit productivity during the 2015 breeding season. Although copulations were observed year‐round, an overwhelming majority (>90% for Lagothrix and >80% for Ateles) took place between August and February when females were most likely to conceive. Collectively, these data follow the reproductive patterns observed in other atelin primates, and, as proposed by others, suggest that atelins may follow a risk‐averse breeding strategy. Highlights: Both spider monkeys and woolly monkeys display reproductive seasonality in the patterns of copulations, conceptions, and births.While births are more common during periods of low fruit availability, spider monkeys and woolly monkeys copulate and conceive at higher frequencies when fruit availability is increasing or maintained at high levels.Consistent with capital breeding, both species had low infant mortality; interannual variation in births was influenced by fruit availability; and early months of gestation coincided with fruit abundance peaks, when females could store energy reserves.
- Subjects
SPIDER monkeys; WOOLLY monkeys; SEXUAL behavior in primates; PRIMATE reproduction; BODY size; MONKEY behavior
- Publication
American Journal of Primatology, 2021, Vol 83, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
0275-2565
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ajp.23220