Consequences of first pregnancy in rhesus monkeys

Bibliographic Data

ID8319334
AuthorsMark E Wilson (0000-0001-8680-7275), Salvatore Ritrovato (0000-0002-0768-5407, corresponding author), Margaret L Walker, Thomas P Gordon
Year1983
Volume61
Issue1
Pages103-110
Publication date1983-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.1330610111
PMID6869507
OpenAlexW6869507
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited21

Female primates have been thought to be reproductively dis‐advantaged during their early reproductive years. In order to assess the effects of first pregnancy on a female's subsequent reproductive activity, the breeding records of female rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) living in provisioned, outdoor‐housed, social groups were examined with respect to age of sexual maturity. Of the 78 colony‐born females contributing to the analysis, 20.5% had their first parturition at 36 months of age. The majority of females, 73.1%, had first parturition at 48 months; 6.4% did so at 5 years of age. Of the early‐maturing females, 75% were from high‐ranking matriarchies. But high social rank did not guarantee early first parturition, as 55.6% of the females from high‐ranking matriarchies had first birth at 48 months. An examination of outcomes of successive pregnancies revealed that both early‐ and typical‐maturing females experienced a significant decline in live births, owing to a significant increase in sterile years, for the reproductive year following a successful first parturition. This decline was even more pronounced for early‐maturing females. The frequency of birth tragedies remained constant throughout the second and succeeding pregnancies. Thus, the capacity to conceive was reduced for some females in the reproductive year following their first pregnancy. Those females that did conceive in the year following a successful first pregnancy had a significantly longer interbirth interval between their first and second parturitions than between subsequent parturitions. Sex of offspring at first parturition did not influence reproductive outcome in the following year. The nutritional costs of lactation associated with a successful first pregnancy may preclude or delay ovulation the following year, and this effect may be greater for young females that are still in a growth phase at first pregnancy. Although these early‐maturing females had proportionally fewer live births during their second reproductive year, they were equal to their age‐mates when compared on the basis of offspring produced by a female at any given age. In addition, since early‐maturing females have offspring entering the breeding pool a full year earlier, they may not necessarily be reproductively disadvantaged

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