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Diet and reproductive function in wild female chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) at Kibale National Park, Uganda
Author(s) -
Thompson Melissa Emery,
Wrangham Richard W.
Publication year - 2008
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.20718
Subject(s) - troglodytes , national park , biology , primate , pongidae , demography , reproductive success , offspring , ecology , zoology , population , pregnancy , genetics , sociology
Abstract Human female reproductive function is highly sensitive to current energetic condition, indicating adaptation to modulate reproductive effort in accordance with changing ecological conditions that might favor or disfavor the production of offspring. Here, we test the hypothesis that reproductive capacity in female chimpanzees is likewise limited by current energetic condition. We used 12 years of data on wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) in the Kanyawara community of Kibale National Park, Uganda, to examine the relationship of dietary quality, as assessed by fruit components of the diet, to the occurrence of sexually receptive females, concentrations of ovarian steroid hormones, and timing of conception. We found that the frequency of females having sexual swellings was positively related to the consumption of drupe fruits. Estrogen levels of both cycling and noncycling females increased during seasonal peaks in the consumption of drupe fruits. When average fruit consumption remained high across months, females conceived more quickly. These results support the hypothesis that cycling and conception in chimpanzees are contingent upon high energy balance, and they indicate that the availability of fruit is a key variable limiting reproductive performance in chimpanzees. Chimpanzees appear to share with humans a reproductive system that is primed to respond to proximate levels of energy acquisition. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.