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Should I store, or should I sync? The breeding strategy of two small Neotropical primates under predictable resource availability

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Abstract

Primates employ many strategies to deal with the costs of reproduction. While income breeders exploit the food available in their environment during lactation, the most costly phase of reproduction, capital breeders tend to store energy for use in the period. We analyzed the relationship between resource availability and lactation in Callicebus coimbrai (n = 2 groups) and Callicebus nigrifrons (n = 2 groups) in four Brazilian Atlantic forest remnants, to assess their breeding strategy. We recorded the occurrence of births and breastfeeding events to assess birth seasonality and lactation period and length while monitoring monthly fruit availability. We recorded 11 births (five for C. coimbrai, and six for C. nigrifrons), all restricted to the end of the lean season and the beginning of the rich season. Lactation coincided with periods of increased fruit availability. We suggest that the breeding pattern of Callicebus coimbrai and C. nigrifrons is compatible with an income-based breeding strategy.

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Acknowledgements

JPS-A is grateful to DAAD, CAPES, and International Primatological Society for financial support during the data collection of this study. CBC, CCG, and MBN-R are grateful to FAPESP (CCG: Process #2010/04034-9, CBC: Process #2008/05127-0, MBN-R: Process #2009/12124-0), CAPES, FAEPEX, PROEX and Idea Wild for financial support and supplied equipment. JPS-A is grateful to PNPD/CAPES (Process #88882.306330/2018-01), FACEPE (BCT-0025-2.05/17) for current financial support. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. We are grateful to Júlio César Bicca-Marques, Eckhard W. Heymann and four anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil

    João Pedro Souza-Alves

  2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil

    João Pedro Souza-Alves

  3. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Christini B. Caselli

  4. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Carla C. Gestich & Mariana B. Nagy-Reis

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  1. João Pedro Souza-Alves
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  2. Christini B. Caselli
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  3. Carla C. Gestich
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  4. Mariana B. Nagy-Reis
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Correspondence to João Pedro Souza-Alves.

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Souza-Alves, J.P., Caselli, C.B., Gestich, C.C. et al. Should I store, or should I sync? The breeding strategy of two small Neotropical primates under predictable resource availability. Primates 60, 113–118 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00716-1

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