Infant presence and mother-infant conflict predict fetal loss in wild mandrills
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- 2Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- 3Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- 4Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- 5Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Abstract
Female fitness depends on reproductive pace and offspring survival, both of which are determined by the ability to balance resource allocation between current and future reproduction. Using 11 years of data on 356 pregnancies (52 of which resulted in fetal loss) from 117 wild female mandrills, we show that females who conceive while still caring for a young infant experience a greater probability of fetal loss as well as increased mother-infant behavioral conflict in the form of maternal rejection. In addition, females whose infants throw more tantrums show a greater probability of fetal loss, consistent with observations from other species where living offspring can interfere in parental reproduction. Finally, females who lose a fetus show greater subsequent reproductive success (produce more surviving infants and show shorter inter-birth intervals) than females who give birth but their infants die soon after birth. These findings suggest that fetal loss may represent an adaptive physiological response to the energetic constraints imposed by overlapping gestation and maternal care, potentially limiting the fitness costs associated with short inter-birth intervals and concurrent investment in multiple dependent offspring.
Maternal fitness depends on balancing investment between current and future reproduction. This study shows that, in wild mandrills, infant presence and tantrum behavior predict fetal loss, consistent with an adaptive response that reduces the costs of concurrent reproductive investment.
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BibTeX
@article{smit2026infant,
title = {{Infant presence and mother-infant conflict predict fetal loss in wild mandrills}},
author = {Nikolaos Smit and Berta Roura-Torres and Axelle Delaunay and Alice Baniel and Elise Huchard and Marie J. E. Charpentier},
journal = {PLOS Biology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3003970},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003970},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Infant presence and mother-infant conflict predict fetal loss in wild mandrills
AU - Nikolaos Smit
AU - Berta Roura-Torres
AU - Axelle Delaunay
AU - Alice Baniel
AU - Elise Huchard
AU - Marie J. E. Charpentier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - PLOS Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003970
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003970
AB - Female fitness depends on reproductive pace and offspring survival, both of which are determined by the ability to balance resource allocation between current and future reproduction. Using 11 years of data on 356 pregnancies (52 of which resulted in fetal loss) from 117 wild female mandrills, we show that females who conceive while still caring for a young infant experience a greater probability of fetal loss as well as increased mother-infant behavioral conflict in the form of maternal rejection. In addition, females whose infants throw more tantrums show a greater probability of fetal loss, consistent with observations from other species where living offspring can interfere in parental reproduction. Finally, females who lose a fetus show greater subsequent reproductive success (produce more surviving infants and show shorter inter-birth intervals) than females who give birth but their infants die soon after birth. These findings suggest that fetal loss may represent an adaptive physiological response to the energetic constraints imposed by overlapping gestation and maternal care, potentially limiting the fitness costs associated with short inter-birth intervals and concurrent investment in multiple dependent offspring. Maternal fitness depends on balancing investment between current and future reproduction. This study shows that, in wild mandrills, infant presence and tantrum behavior predict fetal loss, consistent with an adaptive response that reduces the costs of concurrent reproductive investment.
SN - 1545-7885
SN - 1544-9173
ER -