Pereira M E
Duke University Primate Center, Durham, NC 27705.
Physiol Behav. 1991 Jan;49(1):47-52. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(91)90228-g.
Data from wild and semifree-ranging groups of ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) were combined to evaluate the hypothesis that female ringtailed lemurs exhibit asynchrony of estrus within seasonal synchrony of estrous cycles. Photoperiodic and probably social entrainments lead all females within social groups of ringtailed lemurs to experience estrus annually within periods of 7 to 20 days. Among an average of five adult females in each of 11 group-years, however, only 2 separate instances of dyadic estrous overlap were observed. Computer simulations of estrus occurring independently among group-living females revealed that this was unlikely to have occurred by chance. Recent research on social enhancement and suppression of ovarian cycles in mammals suggests that a single pheromone-based signal-response system could mediate both ringtailed lemurs' remarkable annual estrous synchrony and the subsidiary asynchrony reported here. Asynchrony of estrus probably functions to maximize each female's ability to exercise mate choice by circumventing temporal conflict among females. Asynchrony of estrus and female mate choice cause current models to explain male membership in primate groups to fail for ringtailed lemurs. Such results highlight the need for detailed information on behavioral and physiological reproductive tactics before generally applicable models of reproductive strategies can be developed.
来自圈尾狐猴（Lemur catta）野生和半散养群体的数据被整合起来，以评估以下假设：圈尾狐猴雌性在发情周期的季节性同步范围内表现出发情期的异步性。光周期以及可能的社会因素使得圈尾狐猴社会群体中的所有雌性每年在7至20天的时间段内经历发情期。然而，在11个群体年份中，每个群体平均有5只成年雌性，仅观察到2例二元发情重叠的情况。对群居雌性中独立发生的发情期进行计算机模拟表明，这不太可能是偶然发生的。最近关于哺乳动物卵巢周期的社会增强和抑制的研究表明，一个基于单一信息素的信号反应系统可能介导了圈尾狐猴显著的年度发情同步以及此处报道的附属异步性。发情期的异步性可能通过规避雌性之间的时间冲突，来最大化每个雌性进行配偶选择的能力。发情期的异步性和雌性配偶选择导致目前用于解释灵长类群体中雄性成员身份的模型在圈尾狐猴身上失效。这些结果凸显了在开发普遍适用的生殖策略模型之前，获取有关行为和生理生殖策略详细信息的必要性。
