A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Post-reproductive lifespan in wild mountain gorillas




AuthorsSmit, Nikolaos; Robbins, Martha M.

PublisherNational Academy of Sciences

Publication year2025

Journal:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Article numbere2510998122

Volume122

Issue42

ISSN0027-8424

eISSN1091-6490

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510998122

Web address https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510998122

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/504735404


Abstract

Animals can typically maximize their fitness by reproducing throughout adulthood. Yet, in a handful of species, females cease reproduction long before death, highlighting an apparent evolutionary paradox. We used over three decades of life-history and behavioral data to examine the prevalence of postreproductive lifespan in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Almost one third of females in our study population (7/25) have been “postreproductive” according to a commonly used criterion and have lived more than a decade past their age of last reproduction, representing at least a fourth of their adult lifespan. Additionally, using conservative estimates of female ages, we found a significant post-reproductive representation (a common population-level measure of post-reproductive lifespan) equal to 0.10. Our results add to observations of postreproductive lifespan in chimpanzees and humans and thus, they represent a critical addition to our understanding of hominid life-history evolution.


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Funding information in the publication
Open access funding provided by the Max Planck Society.


Last updated on 2025-22-10 at 10:54