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Twinning frequency of Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) at Takasakiyama

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Abstract

In a wild-living, artificially provisioned population of Japanese macaques at Takasakiyama in southern Japan, nine sets of twins were recorded from 12,392 known deliveries over a 56-year study period. Recorded twinning frequency was 0.073%. During the first 28-year period, artificial food was given until macaques were satiated and population size increased rapidly. In the second 28-year period, provisioned food was restricted to about half of the former period’s calorific content. Seven sets of twins were born in the first period and two sets in the second. Twining frequency in the two periods was 0.137 and 0.027%, respectively. In comparing studies of other Catarrhine primate samples, we hypothesize that twinning frequency is influenced by living conditions, and we suggest that living conditions should be carefully evaluated in studies of twinning frequency.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the present and past managers and staff of the Takasakiyama Natural Zoo for their contribution to the collection of birth records and for allowing us to use them. Our special thanks are due to Vanessa Hayes for her valuable comments and revisions on the earlier draft. This research conforms to the rules and regulations set out by Kyoto University, Primate Research Institute’s Guidelines for research on primates in captivity and the wild.

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Correspondence to Yukimaru Sugiyama.

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Sugiyama, Y., Kurita, H., Matsui, T. et al. Twinning frequency of Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) at Takasakiyama. Primates 52, 19–23 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-010-0220-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-010-0220-8

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