Reproductive Ecology of Female Chimpanzees

Bibliographic Data

ID19386293
AuthorsM E Thompson (0000-0003-2451-6397, Department of Anthropology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume75
Issue3
Pages222-237
Publication date2013-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0275-2565 • E-ISSN: 1098-2345
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajp.22084
PMID23015287
OpenAlexW1586306397
LanguageEN
Citations received41
References cited155

An important adaptive problem for mammals in general, and primates in particular, is how females can manage the high costs of reproduction in the face of fluctuating energetic supplies. For many species, the best solution is to breed seasonally such that high costs are temporally coincident with predictable periods of resource abundance. This is an unreliable strategy for some primates, such as chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), for which large body size forces an increase in dietary complexity and prolonged reproductive efforts. Here, I review data on reproductive function in chimpanzees, a species that demonstrates a risk‐averse reproductive strategy wherein reproductive investment is allocated in accordance with maternal condition. Life history parameters for chimpanzees indicate that most females produce very few surviving offspring. However, comparisons between captive and wild populations and within wild populations illustrate that variation in resource access leads to highly variable reproductive success. Focused hormonal studies have demonstrated these effects at a proximate level, with energetic influences on female dispersal, receptivity, cycle quality, conception success, and lactational amenorrhea. Downstream of these effects, female reproductive function affects sexual attractiveness, and by virtue of males’ own optimal reproductive strategies, can lead to coercive aggression and decreased foraging efficiency. Because of their extreme reproductive costs, female chimpanzees utilize a highly conservative reproductive strategy, one that minimizes the costs of ecological variation but makes them vulnerable to sexual conflict and costs of sociality. Am. J. Primatol. 75:222‐237, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Biological dispersal · Biology · Foraging · Mating · Offspring · Population · Reproductive success · Sociality · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Demography · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Ecology

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