Many mammals coincide their reproductive activities with factors such as ambient temperature, rainfall, and food availability. In primates that invest immediate food intake into reproduction, the periods of maximum fruit production often coincide with the peak of lactation (to maximize maternal survival) or the occurrence of weaning (to maximize infant survival). This study investigates the relationship between reproductive periods and the availability of ripe fruit in the habitat of a population of wild squirrel monkeys (Saimiri collinsi ) in Amazonian Brazil. We combine data from several years (2002–2003; 2011–2015) during which we followed the monkeys and quantified the occurrence of matings, gestations, births, and the number of lactating females. We also collected rainfall and plant phenological data for 24 months. Our results confirm that reproductive events are highly seasonal in S. collinsi . The period of weaning corresponded to the peak in the abundance of ripe fruits consumed by the monkeys. This indicates that the period of infant nutritional independence is optimally timed to coincide with periods of greater food production in this habitat. We suggest that seasonal breeding in these primates does not necessarily reduce maternal energetic stress, but likely improves infant survivorship.

中文翻译：

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居住在巴西亚马逊河地区的松鼠（Saimiri collinsi）的断奶时间与水果高峰期同步。

许多哺乳动物的繁殖活动与环境温度，降雨和食物供应等因素相吻合。在将立即摄取食物的食物用于繁殖的灵长类动物中，最大水果产量的时期通常与哺乳期的高峰（以最大限度地提高母体存活率）或断奶的时期（以最大化婴儿的存活率）相吻合。这项研究调查了繁殖期与野生松鼠猴（Saimiri collinsi）栖息地中成熟果实的可利用性之间的关系）在巴西的亚马逊地区。我们结合了几年（2002–2003； 2011–2015）中的数据，在此期间我们追踪了猴子并量化了交配，妊娠，出生和哺乳雌性的发生率。我们还收集了24个月的降雨和植物物候数据。我们的结果证实，生殖事件在S. collinsi中是高度季节性的。断奶期对应于猴子消耗的大量成熟果实的峰值。这表明婴儿营养独立的时期是最佳时机，以与该栖息地的食物增产时期相吻合。我们建议在这些灵长类动物中进行季节性繁殖不一定能减轻母亲的精力充沛压力，但可能会改善婴儿的生存能力。