High reproductive effort is associated with decreasing mortality late in life in captive ruffed lemurs

We report clear evidence of actuarial senescence (i.e., the decline of annual survival with increasing age) in both sexes and for both species of ruffed lemurs. RRL had a lower baseline mortality and senesced faster than BWRL, resulting in similar distributions of longevities for both species. No between‐sex difference was observed in any species. Lastly, a higher reproductive effort was positively associated with an increase of survival late in life, and thereby an increased longevity. These findings indicate that individual quality rather than trade‐off drives the association between reproductive success and survival pattern among individual lemurs of both species in the protected environment provided by zoos. Lemurs are among the world's highest conservation priorities and better understanding factors influencing their longevity and actuarial senescence patterns should improve their conservation.
Source: American Journal of Primatology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research