Contrasting effects of male immigration and rainfall on rank-related patterns of miscarriage in female olive baboons

Contrasting effects of male immigration and rainfall on rank-related patterns of miscarriage in female olive baboons

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Abstract In mammalian species with prolonged maternal investment in which high-ranking males gain disproportionate numbers of mating opportunities, males that quickly ascend the Hockey Protective - Pants - Intermediate hierarchy may benefit from eliminating the dependent offspring of their competitors.In savanna baboons, high-ranking females are the most profitable targets of infanticide or feticide, because their offspring have higher survival rates and their daughters reach sexual maturity at a younger age.However, such patterns may be obscured by environmental stressors that are known to exacerbate fetal losses, especially in lower-ranking females.

Using 30 years of data on wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, we found evidence that rapidly-rising immigrant males induced miscarriages in high-ranking females outside of drought conditions.However, miscarriage rates were largely reversed during prolonged periods of low rainfall, suggesting that low-ranking females are Ski de fond - Enfant - Bottes particularly vulnerable to low food availability and social instability.Infanticide did not emerge as a recurrent male strategy in this population, likely because of the protective behavior of resident males towards vulnerable juveniles.