抄録
Our research aims at providing a better understanding of the adaptive signification of reproductive processes in female primates. Our recent studies in semi-free ranging olive baboons (Papio anubis) find that the ratio of infant mass to maternal mass is positively associated with reproductive parameters, such as the duration of postpartum amenorrhea and interbirth interval. We also show that baboon mothers resume cycling and reconceive when their infants attain a relatively constant threshold mass, as predicted from interspecific life history theory. We suggest that the duration of investment acted as a facultative adjustment to infant growth rates, and depend on maternal physical and social characteristics (e.g. body mass and social rank). Energetic costs associated with reproduction appear to be surprisingly low in our sample. Energy intake and energy expenditure do not closely predict the time to resumption of cycling. We find a positive correlation between maternal energy expenditure and infant growth rates, i.e. mothers with rapidly growing infants have higher energy expenditure than did mothers with slowly growing infants. Here, we place these results on infant growth and reproductive energetics, using the baboon model, into a broader primate life history perspective, and explore the question of how costly are non-human primate infants.
