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Birth Seasonality (birth + seasonality)
Selected AbstractsBirth seasonality and interbirth interval of captive Rhinopithecus bietiAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Liang-Wei Cui Abstract This study, which is based on 10 years of birth records, shows that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) in captivity display marked birth seasonality. The birth season starts in December and ends in June, with a peak from March to May, and a median birth date of April 10. More male infants than female ones are born in captivity. More males were born at the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) than at the Kunming Zoo (KZ). Of 17 interbirth intervals (IBIs), 29% were from females that had lost an infant at <1 year of age or experienced stillbirth, and 71% were from females whose infant survived more than 1 year. The mean IBI for the former group (428±SD 87 days) was significantly shorter than that for the latter group (706±71 days), in agreement with reports of other Colobine species. Infant mortality was lower in captivity than in the field, which may reflect the relatively stable food availability and climate in captivity compared to the harsh conditions in the wild. Am. J. Primatol. 68:1,7, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] A comparison of sex ratio, birth periods and calf survival among Serengeti wildebeest sub-populations, TanzaniaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Vedasto G. NdibalemaArticle first published online: 31 AUG 200 Abstract Although adaptation and environmental conditions can easily predict demographic variation in most savannah ungulates, no study on demographic consequences arising from natural and anthropogenic factors among Serengeti wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) sub-populations in Tanzania has been carried out. Here, I report estimates of annual sex ratio, calf and yearling survival rate and birth seasonality between resident and migratory sub-populations to explore demographic patterns arising from the different age and sex structure. The results indicate significantly higher female-biased sex ratios in the resident and almost even sex ratios among individual migrants. The calf recruitment estimated as mother: offspring ratios indicate a more synchronous birth in the migrant than the resident sub-population. Also, birth seasonality in the migratory sub-population coincided with seasonal variability of rainfall and the timing of the birth peak was more variable in the migrants than the resident sub-population. The migratory sub-population had a higher annual proportional mean calf survival estimate (0.84) than that of the residents (0.44) probably due to higher mortality resulting from predation in the western corridor. However, the proportion of yearling survival estimates was much lower (0.31) in the migrants and relatively higher (0.39) in the residents. Different demographic outcomes resulting from environment, predation, movements and ecological factors including resource competition have conservation implications for the two sub-populations. Résumé Bien que l'adaptation et les conditions environnementales puissent facilement aider à prédire la variation démographique de la plupart des ongulés de savane, aucune étude n'a encore été réalisée sur les conséquences démographiques de facteurs naturels et anthropiques chez les sous-populations de gnous (Connochaetes taurinus) du Serengeti, en Tanzanie. Ici, je rapporte des estimations du sex-ratio annuel, du taux de survie des veaux et des jeunes d'un an et le caractère saisonnier des naissances entre des sous-populations résidentes et migratrices, pour explorer les schémas démographiques qui se dessinent à partir des différentes structures d'âge et de sexe. Les résultats indiquent un sex-ratio significativement biaisé en faveur des femelles chez les animaux résidents et un sex-ratio presque équilibré chez les individus migrateurs. Le recrutement des veaux estimé selon le rapport mère/progéniture indique des naissances plus synchrones chez la sous-population migratrice que chez la résidente. La saisonnalité des naissances chez la sous-population migratrice coïncidait avec la variabilité saisonnière des chutes de pluies, et le timing du pic des naissances était plus variable chez la sous-population migratrice que chez la résidente. La sous-population migratrice avait une espérance de vie annuelle proportionnelle des veaux plus élevée (0,84) que la résidente (0,44), probablement en raison de la plus forte mortalité causée par des prédateurs dans le corridor occidental. Cependant, les estimations de la proportion de jeunes d'un an survivants étaient beaucoup plus basses (0,31) chez les migrateurs et relativement plus hautes (0,39) chez les résidents. Les résultats démographiques différents des facteurs environnementaux, de la prédation, des déplacements et des facteurs écologiques, y compris la compétition pour les ressources, ont des implications pour la conservation des deux sous-populations. [source] Human birth seasonality and sunshineAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010David R. CummingsArticle first published online: 20 OCT 200 The environmental light intensity/photoperiod (ELI/PP) hypothesis proposes that the seasonality of human births is primarily associated with seasonal changes in ambient atmospheric luminosity or ELI. This study tests for the presence of increased ELI during the 1 or 2-month period preceding the conceptual month. Monthly birth data for Helsinki, Finland; Kiev, Ukraine; Hanoi, Vietnam; Matlab, Bangladesh; Nashville, Tennessee; Los Angeles, California; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado and Pretoria, South Africa, are correlated (Pearsonian r) to corresponding monthly meteorological data. With the exception of Matlab, birth data are adjusted for conception date, 31-day months, leap years and monthly deviation from an annual mean. Meteorological data are adjusted for a 1,2-month exposure to ELI before conception. From these correlations, Helsinki r = 0.82, Kiev r = 0.80, Hanoi r = 0.93, Matlab r = 0.91, Nashville r = 0.84, Los Angeles r = 0.71, Dallas r = 0.86, Denver r = 0.53, and Pretoria r = ,82. Weakness and strengths of the ELI/PP hypothesis are reviewed using the criteria developed by AB Hill. Substituting meteorological variables for ELI may be a weakness, whereas the specificity of ELI/PP predictions may be a strength. Increased periods of ELI precede increased periods of conceptions. Increased ELI may influence seasonality for chimpanzee, baboon, and humans. Atmospheric pollution may alter the onset of seasonality. Increased ELI may be the initial, but not the singular variable to affect seasonality. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Seasonal modulation of reproductive effort during early pregnancy in humans,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Virginia J. Vitzthum Life history theory predicts that early pregnancy presents a relatively low cost, uncontested opportunity for a woman to terminate investment in a current reproductive opportunity if a conceptus is of poor quality and/or maternal status or environmental conditions are not propitious for a successful birth. We tested this hypothesis in rural Bolivian women experiencing substantial seasonal variation in workload and food resources. Significant risk factors for early pregnancy loss (EPL) included agropastoralism versus other economic strategies, conception during the most arduous seasons versus other seasons, and increasing maternal age. Anovulation rate (AR) was higher during the most arduous seasons and in older women. Breastfeeding and indicators of social status and living conditions did not significantly influence either risk of EPL or AR. Averaged over the year, anovulation occurred in about 1/4 of the cycles and EPL occurred in about 1/3 of the conceptions. This is the first evidence of seasonality of EPL in a non-industrialized population, and the first to demonstrate a relationship between economic activities and EPL. These findings suggest that both anovulation and EPL are potential mechanisms for modulating reproductive effort; such "failures" may also be nonadaptive consequences of conditions hostile to a successful pregnancy. In either case, variation in EPL risk associated with different subsistence activities can be expected to influence fertility levels and birth seasonality in both contemporary and past human populations. These consequences of variability in the risk of EPL can impact efforts to understand the sources of variation in reproductive success. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Reproductive parameters of wild Trachypithecus leucocephalus: seasonality, infant mortality and interbirth intervalAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2009Tong Jin Abstract Understanding the reproductive parameters of endangered primate species is vital for evaluating the status of populations and developing adequate conservation measures. This study provides the first detailed analysis of the reproductive parameters of wild white-headed langurs (Trachypithecus leucocephalus), based on demographic data collected over an 8-year period in the Nongguan Karst Hills in Chongzuo County, Guangxi, China. From 1998 to 2002, a total of 133 live births were recorded in the population based on systematic censuses. Births occurred throughout the year, but the temporal pattern was highly correlated with seasonal variation in temperature and rainfall, with the birth peak coinciding with the dry and cold months of November,March. The average birthrate was 0.47±0.13 births per female per year and mortality for infants younger than 20 months was 15.8%. From 1998 to 2006, 14 females gave birth to 41 infants in four focal groups. The average age at first birth for female langurs was 5,6 years (n=5) and the interbirth interval (IBI) was 23.2±5.2 months (median=24.5 months, n=27). Infants are weaned at 19,21 months of age. The IBI for females with infant loss before weaning was significantly shorter than those for females whose infants survived. It appears that birth seasonality in the white-headed langurs is influenced by seasonal changes in food availability. The timing of conceptions was found to coincide with peak food availability. The reproductive parameters for white-headed langurs reported here are quite similar to those reported for other colobine species. One major difference is our observation of lower infant mortality in Trachypithecus. Am. J. Primatol. 71:558,566, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Reproductive parameters in Guizhou snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi)AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Mouyu Yang Abstract In this study, we present data on reproductive parameters and birth seasonality of Guizhou snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi). Our analyses are based on data from a small captive population collected over 15 years and on 5 years of observations of free-ranging snub-nosed monkeys. Captive females (n=4) mature at an age of 70.8±6.7 months and reproduce for the first time at 103.4±7.5 months. The mean interbirth interval was 38.2±4.4 months if the infant survived more than 6 months, which is longer than that in R. roxellana and R. bieti. In the wild and in captivity, births are very seasonal and occur only in a period from the end of March to the end of April. Our data suggest that population growth in Guizhou snub-nosed monkeys is slow compared with the other two Chinese snub-nosed monkey species. The risk of extinction is therefore particularly high in this species, given the small overall population size and slow population recovery potential. Am. J. Primatol. 71:266,270, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Birth seasonality and interbirth interval of captive Rhinopithecus bietiAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Liang-Wei Cui Abstract This study, which is based on 10 years of birth records, shows that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) in captivity display marked birth seasonality. The birth season starts in December and ends in June, with a peak from March to May, and a median birth date of April 10. More male infants than female ones are born in captivity. More males were born at the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) than at the Kunming Zoo (KZ). Of 17 interbirth intervals (IBIs), 29% were from females that had lost an infant at <1 year of age or experienced stillbirth, and 71% were from females whose infant survived more than 1 year. The mean IBI for the former group (428±SD 87 days) was significantly shorter than that for the latter group (706±71 days), in agreement with reports of other Colobine species. Infant mortality was lower in captivity than in the field, which may reflect the relatively stable food availability and climate in captivity compared to the harsh conditions in the wild. Am. J. Primatol. 68:1,7, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||