Document Detail


Patterns of anogenital swelling size and their endocrine correlates during ovulatory cycles and early pregnancy in free-ranging barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) of Gibraltar.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16104035     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In macaques and other cercopithecoid primates, large anogenital swellings (AS) are generally found only in those species in which reproduction is not seasonally restricted. In this respect, the Barbary macaque is unusual because while it shows a marked degree of reproductive seasonality, it also exhibits a striking, exaggerated swelling of the circumanal region and labia. Information on the characteristics of AS in female Barbary macaques is limited in that it is largely based on semiquantitative assessments of swelling size, and there are no data on endocrine parameters associated with AS during ovulatory cycles or early pregnancy. In the present study, we combined quantitative measurements of four swelling size parameters (AS width, height, and depth, and labial width) using a video-imaging technique with fecal estrogen and progestagen determinations in free-ranging females of the Gibraltar Barbary macaque population to 1) characterize the pattern of AS throughout the mating season and early gestation, and 2) examine the relationships among changes in swelling size and endocrine parameters. The patterns of all four swelling parameters correlated significantly with one another, although measures of AS depth and labial width were difficult to obtain. Using the product of AS height and width, the data demonstrate that the occurrence of AS is highly seasonal, with pronounced cyclical changes during the mating season and early pregnancy. Furthermore, the swelling cycles are characterized by progressive size increases from the early to the late follicular phase, in association with an elevated estrogen:progestagen (E:P) ratio, with ovulation occurring during the maximum swelling phase. The results also demonstrated a conspicuous postconception increase in swelling between days 18-30 of gestation. The postconception swellings were on average 80% of the size of that of the conception cycles, and were preceded by a large increase in fecal estrogen levels and the E:P ratio. This is the first study to characterize swelling patterns and their endocrine correlates during ovarian cycles and early pregnancy in naturally reproducing female Barbary macaques. The data provide a solid basis for further studies to explore sociosexual behavioral patterns and the functional significance of AS in this species.
Authors:
U Möhle; M Heistermann; J Dittami; V Reinberg; B Wallner; J K Hodges
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  American journal of primatology     Volume:  66     ISSN:  0275-2565     ISO Abbreviation:  Am. J. Primatol.     Publication Date:  2005 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-08-29     Completed Date:  2006-01-20     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8108949     Medline TA:  Am J Primatol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  351-68     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Affiliation:
Department of Reproductive Biology, German Primate Centre, Goettingen, Germany.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Body Weights and Measures
Estrogens / analysis*
Feces / chemistry
Female
Gibraltar
Macaca / metabolism,  physiology*
Ovulation / metabolism,  physiology*
Perineum / physiology*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, Animal / metabolism,  physiology*
Progestins / analysis*
Seasons
Time Factors
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Estrogens; 0/Progestins
Comments/Corrections
Erratum In:
Am J Primatol. 2005 Oct;67(2):279
Note: Wallner, B [added]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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