A longitudinal study of age-specific reproductive output and body condition among male rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	A longitudinal study of age-specific reproductive output and body condition among male rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta
Creators Name:	Bercovitch, F.B., Widdig, A., Trefilov, A., Kessler, M.J., Berard, J.D., Schmidtke, J., Nuernberg, P. and Krawczak, M.
Abstract:	In many mammalian species, male reproductive success appears to climb sharply at young adulthood, form a brief plateau during prime ages, and decline among older animals, a pattern often attributed to reduced physical condition with ageing. However, solid evidence to either substantiate or refute this profile among nonhuman primates is lacking. Here, we combine a decade of genetic analysis of paternity among free-ranging rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, with information about body condition in order to evaluate how changes in morphology might govern age-specific reproduction among males. We show that age-specific reproductive success traverses the same life history profile as found in other mammals, but reductions in reproductive output with advanced age were associated with reduced chances of survivorship rather than accompanied by diminished body condition. We demonstrate that variance in male age at onset of reproduction is three times greater than variance in female age at onset of reproduction. We provide the first evidence from primates that age-specific reproductive output among males is not a consequence of age-related changes in body condition, but reflects social and demographic factors.
Keywords:	Aging, Animal Sexual Behavior, Body Mass Index, Reproduction, Animals, Macaca Mulatta
Source:	Naturwissenschaften
ISSN:	0028-1042
Publisher:	Springer
Volume:	90
Number:	7
Page Range:	309-312
Date:	July 2003
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0436-1
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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