Maternal Behavior in Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii) is Modulated by Mother-Offspring Characteristics and Socioecological Factors

Bibliographic Data

ID11280243
AuthorsT Revathe (0000-0003-2471-9194, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, corresponding author), Roger Mundry (0009-0008-9988-5131, German Primate Center), Maria A Van Noordwijk (0000-0001-9633-0845, University of Zurich), Sri Utami (0000-0002-5138-242X, Nasional University), Sri Suci Utami-Atmoko, Deana Perawati (Nasional University), Paul-Christian Bürkner (0000-0001-5765-8995, TU Dortmund University), Caroline Schuppli (0000-0001-6318-2815, University of Zurich)
Year2024
Volume45
Issue5
Pages1021-1048
Publication date2024-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0164-0291 • E-ISSN: 1573-8604
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10764-024-00435-5
OpenAlexW4399239614
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited112

Mammalian mothers flexibly invest in their offspring to maximize their lifetime fitness. Flexible maternal investment may be particularly important in large-brained species with prolonged maternal care, e.g., in great apes. We investigated the effects of socioecological factors and mother–offspring characteristics on nine maternal behaviors in wild Sumatran orangutans ( Pongo abelii ; N = 22 mother-offspring pairs; >11,200 hr of focal data from 2007–2022) using generalized linear mixed models. The behaviors fall under four maternal functions: locomotory support (carrying), skill acquisition support (feeding in proximity, food transfer), protective proximity maintenance (body contact and proximity initiation, following), and independence promotion (body contact and proximity termination, avoiding). Mother’s parity was not significantly associated with any maternal behavior. Mothers were more likely to show locomotory support, skill acquisition support, and protective proximity maintenance toward younger than older offspring, whereas they were more likely to promote independence in older than younger offspring. Mothers with male offspring were more likely to show skill acquisition support to their offspring than those with female offspring. With increasing food availability, skill acquisition support reduced. With increasing association size (i.e., the number of individuals within 50 m of each other), mothers were more likely to show protective proximity maintenance and less likely to promote independence. When males were present, mothers were more likely to show locomotory support to their offspring. Sumatran orangutan mothers thus flexibly adjust offspring-directed behavior in response to prevailing socioecological factors and mother–offspring characteristics. Our findings add support to the evolutionary theory that mammalian mothers flexibly invest in their offspring

Animal ecology · Biological evolution · Biology · Entomology · Hominidae · Kinship · Offspring · Pregnancy · Zoology · Anthropology · Marine animal studies overview · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Ecology

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