Dataset Information

Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus).

ABSTRACT: Comparative thanatology includes the scientific study of death in non-human animals, which involves emotional, social, and exploratory responses of individuals and groups towards corpses. Stillborn babies and dead infants often elicit maternal and alloparental care that can persist for days, weeks, or even months, especially in primates. After this period, cannibalistic acts can occur not only by groupmates but also by the mother. Such cannibalism has been reported both in captive and wild primate groups, suggesting that the phenomenon is evolutionary adaptive. Here, we report a case in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus), a largely unstudied monkey species. We collected data from the birth to the death of the infant on maternal and alloparental care towards the newborn across three phases: pre-mortem, post-mortem, and post-mortem cannibalism. The mother maintained high levels of grooming after the infant's death. Both the mother and other group members interacted with the dead baby by trying to engage its gaze. Two days after the death, the mother started to eat the corpse until it was almost completely consumed; there was no sharing with other group members. Although we cannot draw firm conclusions about potential benefits of the mother's behavior, this observation on drills adds a piece to the puzzle of thanatological behaviors and cannibalism in primates.

SUBMITTER: Casetta G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10474171 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus).

Casetta Grazia G Nolfo Andrea Paolo AP Palagi Elisabetta E

Primates; journal of primatology 20230627 5

Comparative thanatology includes the scientific study of death in non-human animals, which involves emotional, social, and exploratory responses of individuals and groups towards corpses. Stillborn babies and dead infants often elicit maternal and alloparental care that can persist for days, weeks, or even months, especially in primates. After this period, cannibalistic acts can occur not only by groupmates but also by the mother. Such cannibalism has been reported both in captive and wild prima ...[more]

PMID: 37368091

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Project description:Some behaviours that typically increase fitness at the individual level may reduce population persistence, particularly in the face of environmental changes. Sexual cannibalism is an extreme mating behaviour which typically involves a male being devoured by the female immediately before, during or after copulation, and is widespread amongst predatory invertebrates. Although the individual-level effects of sexual cannibalism are reasonably well understood, very little is known about the population-level effects. We constructed both a mathematical model and an individual-based model to predict how sexual cannibalism might affect population growth rate and extinction risk. We found that in the absence of any cannibalism-derived fecundity benefit, sexual cannibalism is always detrimental to population growth rate and leads to a higher population extinction risk. Increasing the fecundity benefits of sexual cannibalism leads to a consistently higher population growth rate and likely a lower extinction risk. However, even if cannibalism-derived fecundity benefits are large, very high rates of sexual cannibalism (>70%) can still drive the population to negative growth and potential extinction. Pre-copulatory cannibalism was particularly damaging for population growth rates and was the main predictor of growth declining below the replacement rate. Surprisingly, post-copulatory cannibalism had a largely positive effect on population growth rate when fecundity benefits were present. This study is the first to formally estimate the population-level effects of sexual cannibalism. We highlight the detrimental effect sexual cannibalism may have on population viability if (1) cannibalism rates become high, and/or (2) cannibalism-derived fecundity benefits become low. Decreased food availability could plausibly both increase the frequency of cannibalism, and reduce the fecundity benefit of cannibalism, suggesting that sexual cannibalism may increase the risk of population collapse in the face of environmental change.

Dataset Information

Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus).

Publications

Record of thanatology and cannibalism in drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus).

Similar Datasets

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