Exaggerated Sexual Swellings and the Probability of Conception in Wild Sanje Mangabeys (Cercocebus sanjei)

Bibliographic Data

ID11280451
AuthorsDavid Fernández (0000-0002-5570-8845, University of the West of England, corresponding author), Diane M Doran‐Sheehy (Stony Brook University), Diane Doran-Sheehy, Carola Borries (0000-0001-5262-1405, Stony Brook University), Carolyn L Ehardt (The University of Texas at San Antonio)
Year2017
Volume38
Issue3
Pages513-532
Publication date2017-06-01
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/s10764-017-9961-1
PMID28680189
OpenAlexW2609224028
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited68

Females of several catarrhine primate species exhibit exaggerated sexual swellings that change in size and coloration during the menstrual cycle and, in some species, gestation. Although their function remains under debate, studies indicate that swellings may contain information males could use to discern ovulation and the probability that a cycle will be conceptive. Here we combine visual ratings of swellings with hormonal data for a group of Sanje mangabeys (18 adult, 3 adolescent females) to determine if their swellings provide reliable information on female fertility. In all cases where ovulation was detected (N = 7), it occurred during maximum tumescence, and in 83.3% during the first two days of the “shiny phase,” a period during maximum tumescence when the swelling was brightest. There were no significant differences in maximum tumescence and shiny phase duration among cycles of different probability of conception, although there was a trend toward conceptive cycles exhibiting shorter shiny phases than nonconceptive ones. Only 25% (N = 4) of postconceptive swellings developed the shiny phase, and adolescents displayed the longest maximum tumescence and shiny phases. The conspicuous nature of the shiny phase and the frequent overlap between its onset and ovulation suggest that its presence serves as a general signal of ovulation and that the cycle has a high probability of being conceptive. It also suggests that swellings in some Sanje mangabeys are more accurate signals of fertility than in other primates

Animal ecology · Biology · Hormone · Mating · Menstrual cycle · Ovulation · Penis · Primate · Tumescence · Zoology · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Anatomy · Ecology · Endocrinology · Physiology

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