The effects of lactation and infant care on adult energy budgets in wild siamangs ( Symphalangus syndactylus )

Bibliographic Data

ID8311756
AuthorsSusan Lappan (0000-0002-0139-8837, Ewha Womans University, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume140
Issue2
Pages290-301
Publication date2009-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.21069
PMID19373847
OpenAlexW2025472843
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited53

In mammals with biparental care of offspring, males and females may bear substantial energetic costs of reproduction. Adult strategies to reduce energetic stress include changes in activity patterns, reduced basal metabolic rates, and storage of energy prior to a reproductive attempt. I quantified patterns of behavior in five groups of wild siamangs ( Symphalangus syndactylus ) to detect periods of high energetic investment by adults and to examine the relationships between infant care and adult activity patterns. For females, the estimated costs of lactation peaked at around infant age 4–6 months and were low by infant age 1 year, whereas the estimated costs of infant‐carrying peaked between ages 7 and 12 months, and approached zero by age 16 months. There was a transition from primarily female to male care in the second year of life in some groups. Females spent significantly less time feeding during lactation than during the later stages of infant care, suggesting that female siamangs do not use increased food intake to offset the costs of lactation. Female feeding time was highest between infant ages 16 and 21 months, a period of relatively low female investment in the current offspring that coincided with the period of highest male investment in infant care. This suggests that male care may reduce the costs of infant care for females in the later stages of a reproductive attempt. The female energy gain resulting from male care was likely invested in somatic maintenance and future reproduction, rather than the current offspring. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Animal science · Biology · Breastfeeding · Lactation · Offspring · Parental investment · Paternal care · Pregnancy · Reproduction · Weaning · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Bat Biology and Ecology Studies · Demography · Ecology · Medicine · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Pediatrics

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