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Kunz JA, Duvot GJ, Ashbury AM, Willems EP, Spillmann B, Dunkel LP, Bin Abdullah M, Schuppli C, Vogel ER, Utami Atmoko SS, van Noordwijk MA, van Schaik CP. Alternative reproductive tactics of unflanged and flanged male orangutans revisited. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23535. [PMID: 37475573 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
In many slowly developing mammal species, males reach sexual maturity well before they develop secondary sexual characteristics. Sexually mature male orangutans have exceptionally long periods of developmental arrest. The two male morphs have been associated with behavioral alternative reproductive tactics, but this interpretation is based on cross-sectional analyses predominantly of Northwest Sumatran populations. Here we present the first longitudinal analyses of behavioral changes of 10 adult males that have been observed in both unflanged and flanged morph. We also analyzed long-term behavioral data on an additional 143 individually identified males from two study sites, Suaq (Sumatra, Pongo abelii) and Tuanan (Borneo, Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii), to assess male mating tactics cross-sectionally in relation to population, male morph (unflanged and flanged), and other socio-ecological factors. Both our longitudinal and cross-sectional results confirm and refine previous cross-sectional accounts of the differences in mating tactics between the unflanged and the flanged male morphs. In the unflanged morph, males exhibit higher sociability, particularly with females, and higher rates of both copulation and sexual coercion than in the flanged morph. Based on our results and those of previous studies showing that females prefer flanged males, and that flanged males have higher reproductive success, we conclude that unflanged males face a trade-off between avoiding male-male contest competition and gaining mating access to females, and thus follow a "best-of-a-bad-job" mating strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Kunz
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Institute des Sciences de l'Evolution Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Guilhem J Duvot
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Alison M Ashbury
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Erik P Willems
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Brigitte Spillmann
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lynda P Dunkel
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Misdi Bin Abdullah
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology and Primates Research Center, Universitas Nasional, South Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Caroline Schuppli
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Erin R Vogel
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Sri Suci Utami Atmoko
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology and Primates Research Center, Universitas Nasional, South Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Maria A van Noordwijk
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Comparative Socioecology Group, Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Comparative Socioecology Group, Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
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Edes AN. Zoo studies in primate physiology, health, and welfare. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23476. [PMID: 36776137 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Abstract
Researchers have been studying primates in zoos for more than half a century. There are numerous benefits to conducting research with zoo collections, such as access to a variety of species, ease of sample collection, and the potential to manipulate some research variables. While much of the primate research conducted in zoos is behavioral, there also is a tradition of research focused on reproduction and endocrinology, especially in North America. The contributions to this special issue exemplify how this tradition continues today through a collection of articles on basic and applied research on reproduction and using physiological measures of health and welfare that could be beneficial across primate taxa. As is the case for primatological research in zoos more broadly, the articles in this special issue reflect a taxonomic bias for great apes despite the high species diversity found across zoo collections. Given this bias as well as the threat of extinction faced by many species, there remains a pressing need to increase primatology in zoos through research dedicated to both conservation in the wild and wellbeing in human care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley N Edes
- Department of Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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