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Post-reproductive lifespan in wild mountain gorillas




TekijätSmit, Nikolaos; Robbins, Martha M.

KustantajaNational Academy of Sciences

Julkaisuvuosi2025

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

Artikkelin numeroe2510998122

Vuosikerta122

Numero42

ISSN0027-8424

eISSN1091-6490

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

Verkko-osoitehttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510998122

Rinnakkaistallenteen osoitehttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/504735404


Tiivistelmä

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.


Ladattava julkaisu

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.




Julkaisussa olevat rahoitustiedot
Open access funding provided by the Max Planck Society.


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