Hodgkiss Sarah, Thetford Ernie, Waitt C D, Nijman Vincent
School of Social Sciences and Law, Department of Anthropology and Geography, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Zoo Biol. 2010 Jul-Aug;29(4):449-56. doi: 10.1002/zoo.20277.
Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) are one of the most endangered gibbon species in the world. Data on the reproductive biology of the species are almost nonexistent, and a general understanding of the female reproductive biology of this species is important for both ex situ and in situ conservation. Using 18 years of data from 11 captive individuals, we provide new information on the reproductive biology of Javan gibbons based on sexual swelling and menstrual bleeding, including reproductive development, interbirth intervals, and ovarian cycle lengths. Menarche and the onset of sexual swelling occurred at 6.2 and 6.5 years respectively, followed by a period of adolescent sterility of about 1.5 years. Average age at first birth was 8.8 years, and interbirth intervals were about 2.3 years, decreasing to 1.0 year during cases of infant mortality at or shortly after birth. Ovarian cyclicity was measured through periods between menstrual bleeding and sexual swelling. Menstrual bleeding indicates the start of a new ovarian cycle, while sexual swelling normally occurs near the time of ovulation. Menstrual bleeding intervals gave a cycle length of 25.6 days, while sexual swelling intervals gave a cycle length of 27.3 days. These both correspond closely to cycle lengths in other gibbon species, as well as hormonal studies in Javan gibbons. In particular, observing the presence/absence of swellings was found to be a useful and easy method to monitor female ovarian cycles, and could be a practical noninvasive technique for caretakers and researchers.
爪哇长臂猿（白眉长臂猿属莫洛氏种）是世界上最濒危的长臂猿物种之一。关于该物种生殖生物学的数据几乎不存在，而全面了解该物种的雌性生殖生物学对于迁地保护和就地保护都很重要。我们利用来自11只圈养个体的18年数据，基于性皮肤肿胀和月经出血，提供了关于爪哇长臂猿生殖生物学的新信息，包括生殖发育、产仔间隔和卵巢周期长度。初潮和性皮肤肿胀的开始分别发生在6.2岁和6.5岁，随后是约1.5年的青春期不育期。首次生育的平均年龄为8.8岁，产仔间隔约为2.3年，在婴儿出生时或出生后不久死亡的情况下，产仔间隔缩短至1.0年。卵巢周期性通过月经出血和性皮肤肿胀之间的时间间隔来衡量。月经出血表明新的卵巢周期开始，而性皮肤肿胀通常发生在排卵前后。月经出血间隔的周期长度为25.6天，性皮肤肿胀间隔的周期长度为27.3天。这两者都与其他长臂猿物种的周期长度以及爪哇长臂猿的激素研究密切相关。特别是，观察肿胀的有无被发现是监测雌性卵巢周期的一种有用且简便的方法，并且对于饲养员和研究人员来说可能是一种实用的非侵入性技术。
