Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
At a time when seasonal cycles are increasingly disrupted, the ecology and evolution of reproductive seasonality in tropical vertebrates remains poorly understood. In order to predict how changes in seasonality might affect these animals, it is important to understand which aspects of their diverse...
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2024-09-01
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| author | Dezeure, Jules Dagorrette, Julie Burtschell, Lugdiwine Chowdhury, Shahrina Lukas, Dieter Swedell, Larissa Huchard, Elise |
| author_facet | Dezeure, Jules Dagorrette, Julie Burtschell, Lugdiwine Chowdhury, Shahrina Lukas, Dieter Swedell, Larissa Huchard, Elise |
| author_sort | Dezeure, Jules |
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| description | At a time when seasonal cycles are increasingly disrupted, the ecology and evolution of reproductive seasonality in tropical vertebrates remains poorly understood. In order to predict how changes in seasonality might affect these animals, it is important to understand which aspects of their diverse patterns of reproductive phenology are linked to either the equally diverse patterns of rainfall seasonality (within-year variations) or instead the marked climatic unpredictability (year-to-year variations) occurring across the intertropical belt. Here, we gather birth and climatic seasonality data from 21 populations of 11 Africa-dwelling primate species from the papionin tribe, occupying a wide range of environments, including equatorial, tropical, temperate and arid climates. We investigate (1) the environmental variations that influence the intensity of reproductive seasonality, and (2) the reproductive stage that is synchronized with increased resource availability. Our results demonstrate wide variation in the intensity of birth seasonality between and within species. Across multiple measures of climatic variation, we found rainfall unpredictability to be the only clear predictor of the intensity of reproductive seasonality across populations, i.e., greater year-to-year variation in the amount of rainfall was associated with lower to no reproductive seasonality. Finally, we identified diverse patterns of reproductive phenology, with the most seasonal breeders generally aligning lactation with the peak in resource availability while other populations show more diverse patterns, where conception, lactation or weaning can all be synchronized with maximal food availability. This study sheds new light on the extent and ecological drivers of flexible reproductive phenology in long-lived tropical mammals, and may even contribute to our understanding of why humans give birth year-round. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d91ee44a46644e14b51fc4cf38f51b9b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2804-3871 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Peer Community Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-d91ee44a46644e14b51fc4cf38f51b9b2025-02-07T10:17:17ZengPeer Community InPeer Community Journal2804-38712024-09-01410.24072/pcjournal.46410.24072/pcjournal.464Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability Dezeure, Jules0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6415-2789Dagorrette, Julie1Burtschell, Lugdiwine2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5333-8756Chowdhury, Shahrina3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7214-7453Lukas, Dieter4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7141-3545Swedell, Larissa5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6909-2669Huchard, Elise6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6944-449XCentre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France; Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, FranceInstitute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, FranceInstitute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France; AgroParisTech, Paris, FranceDepartment of Anthropology, Brooklyn College, CUNY, 2900 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 112, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Biology and Psychology Programs, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South AfricaInstitute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France; Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, Walvis Bay, NamibiaAt a time when seasonal cycles are increasingly disrupted, the ecology and evolution of reproductive seasonality in tropical vertebrates remains poorly understood. In order to predict how changes in seasonality might affect these animals, it is important to understand which aspects of their diverse patterns of reproductive phenology are linked to either the equally diverse patterns of rainfall seasonality (within-year variations) or instead the marked climatic unpredictability (year-to-year variations) occurring across the intertropical belt. Here, we gather birth and climatic seasonality data from 21 populations of 11 Africa-dwelling primate species from the papionin tribe, occupying a wide range of environments, including equatorial, tropical, temperate and arid climates. We investigate (1) the environmental variations that influence the intensity of reproductive seasonality, and (2) the reproductive stage that is synchronized with increased resource availability. Our results demonstrate wide variation in the intensity of birth seasonality between and within species. Across multiple measures of climatic variation, we found rainfall unpredictability to be the only clear predictor of the intensity of reproductive seasonality across populations, i.e., greater year-to-year variation in the amount of rainfall was associated with lower to no reproductive seasonality. Finally, we identified diverse patterns of reproductive phenology, with the most seasonal breeders generally aligning lactation with the peak in resource availability while other populations show more diverse patterns, where conception, lactation or weaning can all be synchronized with maximal food availability. This study sheds new light on the extent and ecological drivers of flexible reproductive phenology in long-lived tropical mammals, and may even contribute to our understanding of why humans give birth year-round.https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.464/primates, reproduction, life histories, climate change, birth pattern, birth seasonality |
| spellingShingle | Dezeure, Jules Dagorrette, Julie Burtschell, Lugdiwine Chowdhury, Shahrina Lukas, Dieter Swedell, Larissa Huchard, Elise Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability Peer Community Journal primates, reproduction, life histories, climate change, birth pattern, birth seasonality |
| title | Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
|
| title_full | Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
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| title_fullStr | Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
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| title_full_unstemmed | Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
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| title_short | Flexible reproductive seasonality in Africa-dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability
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| title_sort | flexible reproductive seasonality in africa dwelling papionins is associated with low environmental productivity and high climatic unpredictability |
| topic | primates, reproduction, life histories, climate change, birth pattern, birth seasonality |
| url | https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.464/ |
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