Variability of weaning age in mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei )
Variability of weaning age in mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei )
复制标题
山地大猩猩（Gorilla beringei beringei）断奶年龄的变异性
DOI：
10.1002/ajpa.24237
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发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Robbins, Andrew M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Robbins, Martha M.;Robbins, Andrew M.
断奶是哺乳动物生命史上的一个重要里程碑，从母亲的角度来看，它代表着营养投资的结束，也代表着婴儿完全营养独立的开始。断奶的年龄可能会有所不同，这取决于母亲和婴儿所经历的生态，社会和人口统计学因素。布温迪山地大猩猩生活在不同的环境条件下，与维龙加火山的大猩猩相比，它们的出生间隔更长，但这一种群的其他生活史特征仍不太为人所知。我们使用长期的数据从布温迪坚不可摧的国家公园，乌干达检查因素断奶age.Materials和methodsWe分析了出生在四个山地大猩猩组在布温迪婴儿的数据，以量化他们的断奶年龄（定义为最后一次乳头接触）和测试，如果后代的性别，奇偶校验，和优势排名的母亲影响断奶年龄。我们还比较了断奶的年龄和时间，以恢复交配后的Bwindi和维龙加gorillas.ResultsBwindi大猩猩断奶的平均年龄为57.5个月。未产妇和经产妇的断奶年龄之间没有差异，也没有母亲的优势地位影响断奶年龄，但儿子断奶的年龄晚于女儿。大多数布温迪的母亲在恢复交配时仍在哺乳，母亲通常在给前一个后代断奶前怀孕。断奶的年龄显着晚于布温迪比维龙加大猩猩。母亲恢复交配后，怀孕的下一个后代的时间并没有显着长于Bwindi女性比Virungas女性（6比4个月）。DiscussionLater断奶年龄的儿子比女儿是类似的发现其他研究的大猩猩。布温迪山地大猩猩的断奶年龄与西部大猩猩和黑猩猩大致相同，比维龙加山地大猩猩晚一年多。这项研究的结果表明，生活在地理位置接近的人群的生态条件的变化可能会导致生活史模式的变化，这对理解人类独特的生活史模式的演变具有重要意义。
ObjectivesWeaning is a key life history milestone for mammals that represents both the end of nutritional investment from the perspective of mothers and the start of complete nutritional independence for the infants. The age at weaning may vary depending on ecological, social, and demographic factors experienced by the mother and infant. Bwindi mountain gorillas live in different environmental conditions and have longer interbirth intervals than their counterparts in the Virunga Volcanoes, yet other life history characteristics of this population remain less well known. We use long‐term data from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda to examine factors related to weaning age.Materials and methodsWe analyzed data on infants born in four mountain gorilla groups in Bwindi to quantify their age of weaning (defined as last nipple contact) and to test if the sex of offspring, parity, and dominance rank of mother influences age of weaning. We also compared the age at weaning and time to conception after resumption of mating in Bwindi and Virunga gorillas.ResultsBwindi gorillas were weaned at an average age of 57.5 months. No difference was found between age of weaning for primiparous and multiparous mothers, nor did maternal dominance rank influence age of weaning, but sons were weaned at a later age than daughters. The majority of Bwindi mothers were still suckling when they resumed mating and mothers generally conceived before they weaned their previous offspring. The age of weaning was significantly later in Bwindi than in Virunga gorillas. After mothers resumed mating, the time to conceiving the next offspring was not significantly longer for Bwindi females than Virungas females (6 vs. 4 months).DiscussionLater weaning age for sons than daughters is similar to findings of other studies of great apes. Bwindi mountain gorillas are weaned at approximately the same age as western gorillas and chimpanzees, which is more than a year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. The results of this study suggest that variation in ecological conditions of populations living in close geographic proximity can result in variation in life history patterns, which has implications for understanding the evolution of the unique life history patterns of humans.