DeRousseau C J, Reichs K J
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1987 Jul;73(3):279-87. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330730302.
Although secular trends toward increasing body size are apparent in many human populations, little is known about their occurrence in nonhuman primates. The Cayo Santiago skeletal collection of Macaca mulatta includes 101 adult animals (greater than or equal to 10 years of age) born at different times in the past 3 1/2 decades, so that variation in size may be examined relative to birth year. No secular trends in orbital height were observed in this sample, but in both sexes lengths of adult long bones increased significantly over time, while cranial dimensions and length of the second molar in female also showed significant variation with birth year. These changes were consistent with the history of provisioning of the animals and with fluctuations in population size. Low-order correlations were observed between birth year and body proportions, especially the crural index in males, a pattern that has also been observed in human populations. These findings argue that, in addition to biomechanics and heritage, diet may affect allometric relationships and that an inherent plasticity or malleability of the growth process may be characteristic of nonhuman as well as human primates.
尽管在许多人类群体中，体型增大的长期趋势很明显，但对于非人类灵长类动物中这种趋势的出现情况却知之甚少。圣地亚哥岛猕猴骨骼样本包含101只成年动物（年龄大于或等于10岁），它们出生于过去35年中的不同时期，因此可以根据出生年份来研究体型变化。在这个样本中未观察到眶高的长期趋势，但成年长骨的长度在两性中均随时间显著增加，而雌性的颅骨尺寸和第二磨牙长度也随出生年份呈现显著变化。这些变化与动物的食物供应历史以及种群数量波动相一致。出生年份与身体比例之间存在低阶相关性，尤其是雄性的小腿指数，这种模式在人类群体中也有观察到。这些发现表明，除了生物力学和遗传因素外，饮食可能会影响异速生长关系，并且生长过程中固有的可塑性或延展性可能是非人类和人类灵长类动物的共同特征。
