Life history space”

A multivariate analysis of life history variation in extant and extinct Malagasy lemurs

Bibliographic Data

ID8319792
AuthorsKierstin K Catlett (Arizona State University, corresponding author), Gary T Schwartz (0000-0003-4428-2102, Arizona State University), L R Godfrey (0000-0001-9997-0207, University of Massachusetts Amherst), William L Jungers (0000-0002-8092-1429, Stony Brook University)
Year2010
Volume142
Issue3
Pages391-404
Publication date2010-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.21236
PMID20091842
OpenAlexW2154545752
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited67

Studies of primate life history variation are constrained by the fact that all large‐bodied extant primates are haplorhines. However, large‐bodied strepsirrhines recently existed. If we can extract life history information from their skeletons, these species can contribute to our understanding of primate life history variation. This is particularly important in light of new critiques of the classic “fast‐slow continuum” as a descriptor of variation in life history profiles across mammals in general. We use established dental histological methods to estimate gestation length and age at weaning for five extinct lemur species. On the basis of these estimates, we reconstruct minimum interbirth intervals and maximum reproductive rates. We utilize principal components analysis to create a multivariate “life history space” that captures the relationships among reproductive parameters and brain and body size in extinct and extant lemurs. Our data show that, whereas large‐bodied extinct lemurs can be described as “slow” in some fashion, they also varied greatly in their life history profiles. Those with relatively large brains also weaned their offspring late and had long interbirth intervals. These were not the largest of extinct lemurs. Thus, we distinguish size‐related life history variation from variation that linked more strongly to ecological factors. Because all lemur species larger than 10 kg, regardless of life history profile, succumbed to extinction after humans arrived in Madagascar, we argue that large body size increased the probability of extinction independently of reproductive rate. We also provide some evidence that, among lemurs, brain size predicts reproductive rate better than body size. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Biology · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Extinct species · Genealogy · Geography · Lemur · Life history · Primate · Variation (astronomy) · Zoology · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Ecology · History · Primate Behavior and Ecology

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