Abstracts of presentations: Abstracts 52-69

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 76 KB
• Volume: 45
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0275-2565
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2345(1998)45:2<184::aid-ajp5>3.0.co;2-s

✦ Synopsis

For the past several years, female perineal swellings in our lion-tailed macaque group have either not reached the maximum swelling stage or have not lasted as long at maximum swelling stage as in previous years. Examination of the long term swelling and copulatory records for seven adult females, revealed that changes started to occur following male vasectomies. Comparison of duration of maximum swelling prior to vasectomy and the four subsequent years following vasectomy revealed an interesting phenomena. The mean number of days the females were maximally swollen decreased significantly from a mean of 3.3 (± .46 SEM) days prior to vasectomy to a mean of .107 (± .06 SEM) days in the fourth year following vasectomy. While the older females exhibited significant changes in the duration of maximum swelling during the first year following vasectomy, the younger females also showed significant changes in the second year, thus indicating these changes are not a result of female aging. Examination of copulatory records, revealed that the alpha male's copulation throughout the follicular phase also showed a significant decline from a mean of .295 (± .029 SEM) rate per day to a mean of .079 (± .041 SEM) rate per day. At this point in time, partner boredom cannot be ruled out since the dominant male has been in the social group for six years and the other three remaining adult vasectomized males are all colony born.