Age-related patterns of reproductive success among female mountain gorillas

✍ Scribed by Andrew M. Robbins; Martha M. Robbins; Netzin Gerald-Steklis; H. Dieter Steklis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 263 KB
• Volume: 131
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-9483
• DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20474

✦ Synopsis

A key goal of life history theory is to explain the effects of age and parity on the reproductive success of iteroparous organisms. Age-related patterns may be influenced by changes in maternal experience or physical condition, and they may reflect maternal investment trade-offs between current versus future reproduction. This article examines the influences of age and parity upon the interbirth intervals (IBI), offspring survival, and birth rates of 66 female mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcano region from 1967-2004. Fertility was relatively low for females below age 12; improved as they matured; and then declined as they aged further. Primiparous mothers had