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Individual variation in the growth of captive infant gorillas
Author(s) -
Bellisari Anna,
Newman Timothy K.,
Greenberg Chandra,
Rogers Jeffrey,
Towne Bradford
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1062
Subject(s) - gorilla , anthropometry , circumference , biology , demography , body weight , anatomy , zoology , geography , mathematics , paleontology , geometry , archaeology , endocrinology , sociology
Serial anthropometric data were obtained during the first year of life of six nursery‐reared infant gorillas in the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo. Two of the infants are likely to be monozygotic twins as determined by DNA analysis. Growth curves were fitted to serial measures of cephalo‐thoracic‐abdominal length, arm length, leg length, head circumference, upper arm circumference, and weight from each gorilla, to describe individual patterns of variation in skeletal growth and body composition. Growth in skeletal measures tended to be curvilinear to varying degrees over the first year of life. Body composition varied more than skeletal measures throughout the first year as a consequence of individual health status. Individual growth and body composition variations appear to reflect both genetic and environmental influences in this small sample of captive infant gorillas. Am J Phys Anthropol 115:110–132, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.