Signals of female reproductive quality and fertility in colony-living baboons (Papio h. anubis) in relation to ensuring paternal investment.
The fitness of a female's offspring depends cruicially on the traits, genetic and paternal, that the father contributes. As such, females may either have an interest in behaviorally choosing the highest-quality male, or in reliably signaling their fertility status to males. Combining hormonal data on a female's ovulatory fertile window with a behavioral context, we suggest that captive female olive baboons (Papio h. anubis) provide fathers with reliable signals of their fertile period. One signal, the maximum anogenital swelling (AGA), typically coincided with a 4-day fertile window of ovulation, which occurred 2-3 days prior to deturgescence. As expected from previous studies, AGA swelling indicated general attractiveness to males, and males attended to the relative attractiveness of females. Males approached and copulated with females significantly more often during the 4-day window around ovulation, irrespective of the absolute swelling stage. The two adult males present in the group were both able to copulate with consistent partners as at least two cycling females were available in most months; the dominant male was more selective about the timing of his copulations close to ovulation during the maximal swelling phase. Females with ovulatory but nonconceptive cycles were less attractive to males, especially during their maximal AGA swelling phase.
Laboratoire de Dynamique de l'Evolution Humaine, CNRS UPR 2147, Paris, France.
Agnès
A
Daspre
Michael
M
Heistermann
J Keith
JK
Hodges
Phyllis C
PC
Lee
Lyliane
L
Rosetta
D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000502:physiology; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D010060:Ovulation / Q000502:physiology*; D048530:Papio anubis / Q000502:physiology*; D010332:Paternal Behavior; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones