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Estrus cycle asynchrony in wild female chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii |
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| Authors: | Akiko Matsumoto-Oda Miya Hamai Hitosige Hayaki Kazuhiko Hosaka Kevin D Hunt Eiiti Kasuya Kenji Kawanaka John C Mitani Hiroyuki Takasaki Yukio Takahata |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Welfare and Culture, Okinawa University, Naha Okinawa, 902-8521, Japan;(2) Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan;(3) The Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan;(4) Faculty of Child Studies, Kamakura Women’s University, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan;(5) Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA;(6) Department of Biology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan;(7) Department of Biosphere–Geosphere System Science, Okayama University of Science, Okayama, Japan;(8) Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA;(9) School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan |
| Abstract: | Although estrous synchrony has been reported in a number of mammalian species, most often among primates, methodological and analytical problems make it difficult to interpret these results. We developed a novel estrous synchrony index and employed a randomization procedure to analyze long-term observations of female chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) estrous cycles at the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Our results revealed that female chimpanzees at Mahale avoid synchronizing their estrous periods with each other. We also found that birthrates decreased as the breeding sex ratio increased. We suggest that estrous asynchrony decreases female–female competition for mates. Asynchrony may also reduce the potential for male sexual coercion by nonpreferred mating partners. |
| Keywords: | Timing of estrus Mating strategy Female competition Sexual conflict Chimpanzees |
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