Behaviourally mediated suppression of reproduction in female primates

Abstract

Social dominance hierarchies are commonly found in many different primate societies. One effect of such a social system is the suppression of reproduction among socially subordinate individuals. Socially‐induced suppression of reproduction is more marked among subordinate females than subordinate males. Dominant females produce more offspring than subordinate females. A spectrum of reproductive deficiencies contributes to the poor reproductive performance of subordinate females in different primate species. At best, suppression of reproductive output in female subordinates is manifest as a low rate of survival of their infants. At worst, it leads to complete inhibition of ovulation and total infertility. This paper considers why, how and at what physiological level dominant females suppress reproduction in female subordinates, and then concentrates on the specific physiological mechanisms that impose inhibition of ovulation in subordinate female marmoset monkeys. With stress becoming increasingly implicated with infertility in women, understanding natural stress‐related infertility in subordinate female primates may generate invaluable information about the physiological transcription of stress into infertility.