ISSN:
0032-8332
Keywords:
Menstrual cycle
;
Vaginal secretion
;
Chemical signals
;
Pheromones
;
Social/physical contact
;
Olfactory cues
;
Crab-eating monkey
;
Cynomolgus monkey
;
Breeding husbandry
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Twelve adult female crab-eating monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were placed in six pairs of adjacent cages, allowing physical contact between members of these experimental pairs. Twelve additional females remained singly caged (no physical contact allowed) and served as six control “pairs.” In both experimental and control pairs, one member had a history of regular menstrual cycles, whereas the other tended to have cycles that were unusually long and/or irregular. Over a six-month period, menses and amount of vaginal secretion were recorded daily for all subjects, and the behavior of experimental pairs was sampled three times per week. During the course of the study, the irregular experimental subjects began to exhibit menstrual cycles of near normal length although there was no apparent trend to synchronize cycles. Irregular controls continued to show cycles that were abnormally long. Vaginal secretions tended to increase in all regularly cycling animals during days 9–15 (peak day 11) or reverse days 21–16 of the cycle, consistent with the estimated time of ovulation. Analysis of behavior indicated that irregularly cycling subjects inspected the genitalia of their regularly cycling cagemates at a significantly higher frequency than the converse (F=12.61,p〈.005), particularly during the follicular phase (F=3.39,p〈.07). These results suggest that close physical contact may serve to transmit chemical and/or hormonal cues that can normalize the menstrual cycle of crab-eating monkeys.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02382524
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