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Birth rate and mortality rate of infants with congenital malformations of the limbs in the Awajishima free‐ranging group of Japanese monkeys ( Macaca fuscata )
Author(s) -
Nakamichi Masayuki,
Nobuhara Hisami,
Nobuhara Toshikazu,
Nakahashi Minoru,
Nigi Hideo
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2345(1997)42:3<225::aid-ajp5>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - mortality rate , medicine , japanese monkeys , biology , pediatrics , physiology , zoology
The birth rate and mortality rate of infants with congenital malformations of the limbs were examined in the Awajishima free‐ranging group of Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ). Of the 606 infants born between 1978 and 1995, 86 (14.2%) were malformed. The male‐female ratio did not differ between malformed and normal infants. Most kin‐groups included females who gave birth to malformed infants at least once. The mortality rate within the first year after birth for malformed infants (28.2%) was significantly higher than that for normal infants (10.0%). However, this indicates that more than 70% of malformed infants were able to survive for the first year of life, even though they were unable to cling to their mothers ventrum due to their limb deformities. This finding indicates that maternal care‐taking is sufficient to enable malformed infants to survive during the early stages of development and that clinging by the infant is not necessary for the display of maternal care. Am. J. Primatol. 42:225–234, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.