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King AG, Rissling T, Cote S, Sicotte P. All together now: Assessing variation in maternal and nonmaternal handling of wild Colobus vellerosus infants. Am J Primatol 2024:e23629. [PMID: 38654439 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Primatologists have a long-standing interest in the study of maternal care and nonmaternal handling (NH) of infants stemming from recognition that early social relationships can have enduring consequences. Though maternal care and NH often include expression of similar behaviors, they are regularly studied in isolation from each other with nonoverlapping terminology, thereby overlooking possible interplay between them and obfuscating potential developmental ramifications that ensue from trade-offs made between maternal (MH) and NH during infancy. To that end, identifying how MH and NH patterns interact and contribute to the total handling (TH) infants receive is a critical first step. We present durational handling data collected from 25 wild Colobus vellerosus infants from 2016 to 2017 and assess the relationships between TH, MH, and NH. Patterns of social affiliation are shaped in part by surrounding context, and therefore, we also assess whether NH and TH differ in their responsivity to various infant and social group characteristics. Ninety-four percent of observed handling was MH, while just 5.5% was NH. Young infants who received more MH (excluding nursing) also received more NH; there was no relationship between the two in older infants. Infants in larger groups participated in more handling of all types. Additionally, NH time was associated with infant sex and group stability. Non-nursing TH time was associated with group stability and infant cohort size. Though NH variation likely confers social-networking advantage, in this population NH is not a major contributor to TH and would not effectively replace reduced MH. The positive association between MH and NH during early infancy suggests that colobus mothers may play a mediating role in shaping infant socialization. This is a first step in elucidating how different forms of handling relate to one another in wild primates and in identifying the impact of handling on infant socialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyson G King
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Tianna Rissling
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susanne Cote
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Pascale Sicotte
- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Li YP, Huang ZP, Yang Y, He XB, Pan RL, He XM, Yang GW, Wu H, Cui LW, Xiao W. Ontogenetic Development of Sexual Dimorphism in Body Mass of Wild Black-and-White Snub-Nosed Monkey ( Rhinopithecus bieti). Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13091576. [PMID: 37174611 PMCID: PMC10177520 DOI: 10.3390/ani13091576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism exists widely in animals, manifesting in different forms, such as body size, color, shape, unique characteristics, behavior, and sound. Of these, body mass dimorphism is the most obvious. Studies of evolutionary and ontogenetic development and adaptation mechanisms of animals' sexual dimorphism in body mass (SDBM), allow us to understand how environment, social group size, diet, and other external factors have driven the selection of sexual dimorphism. There are fewer reports of the ontogenetic development of sexual dimorphism in body mass in Rhinopithecus. This study explores the ontogenetic development pattern of SDBM in wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (R. bieti), and the causes resulting in extreme sexual dimorphism compared to other colobines. A significant dimorphism with a ratio of 1.27 (p < 0.001) appears when females enter the reproductive period around six years old, reaching a peak (1.85, p < 0.001) when males become sexually mature. After the age of eight, the SDBM falls to 1.78, but is still significant (p < 0.001). The results also indicate that males had a longer body mass growth period than females (8 years vs. 5 years); females in larger breeding units had a significantly higher SDBM than those in smaller ones (2.12 vs. 1.93, p < 0.01). A comparative analysis with other colobines further clarifies that Rhinopithecus and Nasalis, which both have multilevel social organization, have the highest degree of SDBM among all colobines. The large SDBM in R. bieti can be explained through Bergman's and Rensch's rules. Overall, environmental adaptation, a distinctive alimentary system, and a complex social structure contribute to R. bieti having such a remarkable SDBM compared to other colobines. In addition, we found that females' choice for males may not be significantly related to the development of SDBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Peng Li
- School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
- Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
| | - Zhi-Pang Huang
- Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
| | - Yin Yang
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Xiao-Bin He
- Administration of Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve, Diqing 674500, China
| | - Ru-Liang Pan
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth WA 6009, Australia
| | - Xin-Ming He
- Administration of Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve, Diqing 674500, China
| | - Gui-Wei Yang
- Administration of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve in Nujiang, Nujiang 673200, China
| | - Hua Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Liang-Wei Cui
- Key Laboratory of Wildlife Conservation for Minimal Population in Universities of Yunnan Province, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Wen Xiao
- Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
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Cords M, Gometz E. The birth hour of mammals: insights from intra-specific variation in wild blue monkeys. Curr Zool 2022; 68:499-506. [PMID: 36324538 PMCID: PMC9616064 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 09/07/2024] Open
Abstract
While most mammals show birth hour peaks at times of the 24-h cycle when they are less active, there are exceptions to this general pattern. Such exceptions have been little explored, but may clarify evolutionary reasons for the diel timing of births. We investigated intraspecific variation in birth hour in wild blue monkeys Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni, a diurnal primate, to identify factors that differentiated daytime versus nighttime births. Behavioral and life history data from 14 groups over 14 years revealed that 4% of 484 births occurred during the day. Probability of daytime birth varied with mother's age, peaking at 15.7 years. Births whose annual timing deviated most from the population's peak birth months were 5 times more likely to occur during daytime than those that deviated less. There was no evidence that mother's rank or infant sex influenced birth hour, and mixed evidence that daytime births were more probable in larger groups. Survivorship did not differ significantly for infants born during the day versus night. Prime-aged mothers may be able to handle the consequences of an unusual birth hour more successfully than mothers with less experience or those weakened by age. Daytime birth may be more advantageous in the off-season because nights are colder at that time of year. These findings are consistent with hypotheses relating birth hour to the risk of losing social protection in group-living animals, but are not consistent with those emphasizing risk of conspecific harassment. Patterns of within-species variation can help in evaluating evolutionary hypotheses for non-random birth hour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Cords
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Emma Gometz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
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