Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




FLORA AND FAUNA
Big butts aren't everything to male baboons
by Staff Writers
Durham NC (SPX) Apr 22, 2015


Noodle, a female baboon from Kenya, reveals her bright red swollen bottom -- a sign that her time of ovulation is near. Researchers have long thought that baboon males prefer females with bigger backsides as the mark of a good mother, but a new study suggests that the size of a female's swollen rump doesn't matter as much as previously thought. Image courtesy Fitzpatrick, Duke University. For a larger version of this image please go here.

While the female baboon's big red bottom may be an eyesore to some, it has an aphrodisiac effect on her mates. Biologists have long thought that baboon males prefer females with bigger backsides as the mark of a good mother, but new research suggests it isn't so simple.

A study of wild baboons in southern Kenya reveals that the size of a female's swollen rump doesn't matter as much as previously thought. The study appears online in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Baboons breed throughout the year, and mating occurs during times when a female's behind is swollen -- a sign that she may be ovulating. For ten to 20 days each month, the tissue in a female baboon's hindquarters swells up, reaching peak size when a female is most fertile and then shrinking back to normal.

To precisely measure this variation in female swellings, Duke University researcher Courtney Fitzpatrick adapted a camera technique that was originally developed to measure large animals like elephants and bison from afar.

First she attached a digital caliper to a telephoto zoom lens, which allowed her to measure the distance to the baboon being photographed. Then by counting pixels in the resulting digital images of baboon bottoms and converting them to millimeters, Fitzpatrick was able to estimate the size of each swelling.

Measurements from 34 females revealed that some females swell more than others. The biggest bottom belonged to a female named Vow, whose rump swelled by 6.5 inches as she approached ovulation. The smallest belonged to a female named Lollipop, whose bottom only increased by four inches.

"Some females are just bigger than others," Fitzpatrick said.

The Duke and Princeton researchers combined these size measurements with long-term data on each female's offspring. When they controlled for factors such as the female's age and rank, they were surprised to find that females with bigger backsides don't necessarily make better mothers, as evidenced by the fact that females with fuller fannies didn't produce more surviving infants.

The researchers also recorded male courtship behavior during the time when females were swollen. They found that big-bottomed females were no more likely to attract mates than their smaller-bottomed counterparts.

Instead of going for bigger backsides, males preferred females that had cycled more times since their last pregnancy.

Like humans, female baboons don't start ovulating again right away after having a baby. Things usually return to normal when their infant starts weaning, but until that time they're less likely to get pregnant.

The results suggest that baby readiness means more to males than an ample derriere. Rather than size, it seems that males use the number of postpartum cycles as a cue to gauge their likelihood of making a baby.

"It's almost as if the males are counting," Fitzpatrick said. "Our study suggests that, at least in part, males follow a rule along the lines of 'later is better' rather than 'bigger is better.'"

The team's next step is to determine if females actually mate with more males after they've had more postpartum menstrual cycles, and whether that translates to higher survival for their offspring.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Duke University
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





FLORA AND FAUNA
Thai customs seize African elephant tusks worth $6 mn
Bangkok (AFP) April 20, 2015
Four tonnes of African elephant ivory worth $6 million has been seized at a Bangkok port in a container labelled as beans, Thai customs said Monday, in the kingdom's largest-ever haul of its kind. The 739 pieces of tusk were found stashed in a container which arrived at the port on April 18 after being shipped from the Democratic Republic of Congo destined for Laos, according to a statement ... read more


FLORA AND FAUNA
ORNL contributes to major UN bioenergy and sustainability report

Researchers use plant oils for novel bio-based plastics

Discovery of new plant switch could boost crops, biofuel production

Swimming algae offer Penn researchers insights into living fluid dynamics

FLORA AND FAUNA
Inkjet-printed liquid metal could bring wearable tech, soft robotics

All dolled up: China sex toys play for real

DARPA Seeks to Create Software Systems That Could Last 100 Years

Saucers, totes, cans, passion and dedication shape local students at JSC

FLORA AND FAUNA
Molycorp to supply rare earths for use in Siemens wind turbines

Cornell deploys dual ZephIR lidars for more accurate turbulence study

U.S. to fund bigger wind turbine blades

Gamesa and AREVA create the joint-venture Adwen

FLORA AND FAUNA
Tesla struggling to electrify China car market

Carmakers race to China auto show despite market slowdown

China's Ninebot buys US scooter firm Segway

China 'Segway copycat' buys Segway company

FLORA AND FAUNA
Graphene pushes the speed limit of light-to-electricity conversion

KOA Speer ships new 3W molded current sense resistor

Harvesting energy from electromagnetic waves

Packing heat: New fluid makes untapped geothermal energy cleaner

FLORA AND FAUNA
EU gives green light for Hungarian nuclear deal with Russia

Bury nuclear waste down a very deep hole, say UK scientists

Japan utility appeals nuclear reactor injunction

Russia, Japan to Continue Developing Joint Nuclear Energy Projects

FLORA AND FAUNA
New Zealand boasts of geothermal energy capacity

Canada revises upward CO2 emission data since 1990

British greenhouse gas emissions drop

Shifts in electricity generation spur net job growth, but coal jobs decline

FLORA AND FAUNA
Latin America most dangerous region for land activists: report

Rainforest protection akin to speed limit control

Citizen scientists map global forests

Researchers map seasonal greening in US forests, fields, and urban areas




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.