Abstract
Baboon researchers commonly use the timing of sexual swelling detumescence to infer the timing of ovulation. These estimates are then used for a variety of purposes, including the interpretation of male and female behaviour, assessment of likely paternity, and the calculation of gestation lengths. Although captive studies have measured the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence, this has not been measured in wild baboons. Here, we use observational data on female sexual swellings, and hormonal data measured from faeces, to investigate the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence in wild olive baboons. Our data show similar variability in the timing of ovulation with respect to detumescence as that produced by captive studies, although there are some notable differences, including the absence of any ovulations measured on or after the day of swelling detumescence. We discuss the importance of our results for baboon researchers using swellings to infer ovulation as part of their studies.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Nigerian National Parks Service for permission to undertake research in GGNP via permits to the Gashaka Primate Project. Volker Sommer facilitated our work at Gashaka, while Bobbo Buba, Halidu Ilyusu, Helen Cross and Alejandra Pascual Garrido helped collect data in the field. NCF/WWF-UK provided logistical support. The Chester Zoo Nigeria Biodiversity Programme provided core funding for key Gashaka Primate Project (GPP) infrastructure. Balbir Singh Josen provided laboratory assistance at Roehampton University during the analysis of the study samples. Funding came from Roehampton University, with some additional fieldwork funding provided by The Leakey Trust. Baboon faecal samples were imported into the United Kingdom under license from DEFRA (AHZ/2537/2004/1). This is GPP publication number 63.
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Higham, J.P., Heistermann, M., Ross, C. et al. The timing of ovulation with respect to sexual swelling detumescence in wild olive baboons. Primates 49, 295–299 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0099-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0099-9