Brief Report

Seasonal Variation in the Testicular Volume of Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella) in Captivity
Marcelo A. de B. Vaz Guimarães, Cláudio Alvarenga de Oliveira, Renato Campanarut Barnabe

Departamento de Reprodução Animal da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Address of Corresponding Author

Folia Primatol 2003;74:54-56 (DOI: 10.1159/000068394)

  Key Words

• Capuchin monkey
• Testicular volume
• Seasonality
• Cebus apella

  Abstract

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The study of the reproductive strategy developed by different species in order to adapt to their environmental conditions and their meaning in an evolutionary perspective is essential for understanding the mechanisms involved in the process of reproduction. Non-human primates are very interesting models for this purpose. Some species show a typical seasonal reproductive pattern, such as rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) [Sade, 1964; Conaway and Sade, 1965] and ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) [Zuckerman, 1953], while others, such as gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) [Puschmann, 1975], show relative independence of the environment. Neotropical primates display many different breeding strategies. Female capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella), for instance, having reached puberty, have fertile cycles year-round [Hamlett, 1939; Nagle and Denari, 1983]. Interestingly, there are reports of a clear peak of births in free-living [Hamlett, 1939] and captive colonies [Welker et al., 1983] in the dry season, i.e. May-June in the southern hemisphere. Some authors suggest that a seasonal variation in spermatogenesis could explain the birth peak [Freese and Oppenheimer, 1981]. The aim of this study was to investigate this theory, measuring seasonal variation in total testicular volume in a captive group of male capuchin monkeys and assessing its temporal correlation with the birth season as an indirect indication of variation in male fertility.

  Author Contacts

M.A. de B. Vaz Guimarães, Departamento de Reprodução Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando
Marques de Paiva, 87,Cidade Universitária
'Armando Salles Oliveira', 05508-900, São Paulo (Brasil) Tel. +55 11 3818 7650, Fax +55 11 3818 7412
E-Mail marceloabvg@uol.com.br

  Article Information

Received: March 4, 2002
Accepted after revision: September 16, 2002
Number of Print Pages : 3
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 8