After short interbirth intervals, captive callitrichine monkeys have higher infant mortality

Life history theory predicts a trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring. Short interbirth intervals—the time between successive births—may increase the quantity of offspring but harm offspring quality. In contrast, long interbirth intervals may bolster offspring quality while reducing...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:iScience 2022-01, Vol.25 (1), p.103724-103724, Article 103724
Main Authors: Frye, Brett M., McCoy, Dakota E., Kotler, Jennifer, Embury, Amanda, Burkart, Judith M., Burns, Monika, Eyre, Simon, Galbusera, Peter, Hooper, Jacqui, Idoe, Arun, Goya, Agustín López, Mickelberg, Jennifer, Quesada, Marcos Peromingo, Stevenson, Miranda, Sullivan, Sara, Warneke, Mark, Wojciechowski, Sheila, Wormell, Dominic, Haig, David, Tardif, Suzette D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal physiology
Animals
Biological sciences
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Life history theory predicts a trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring. Short interbirth intervals—the time between successive births—may increase the quantity of offspring but harm offspring quality. In contrast, long interbirth intervals may bolster offspring quality while reducing overall reproductive output. Further research is needed to determine whether this relationship holds among primates, which have intensive parental investment. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we examined the effects of interbirth intervals (short, normal, or long) on infant survivorship using a large demographic dataset (n = 15,852) of captive callitrichine monkeys (marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins). In seven of the nine species studied, infants born after short interbirth intervals had significantly higher risks of mortality than infants born after longer interbirth intervals. These results suggest that reproduction in callitrichine primates may be limited by physiologic constraints, such that short birth spacing drives higher infant mortality. [Display omitted] •Callitrichines are unusual primates; they breed cooperatively and birth litters•We analyzed 15,852 births with known interbirth intervals in captive callitrichines•Short interbirth intervals were associated with increased mortality risks•Callitrichines seem to face trade-offs between offspring quality and quantity Biological sciences; Zoology; Animals; Animal physiology
ISSN:2589-0042
2589-0042
DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103724