Age-Trajectory of Mother-Infant Relationships in Wild Assamese Macaques.

ABSTRACT: Maternal care is ubiquitous in mammals, yet its degree and duration vary across taxa. In primates, mothers provide extended care for young and follow similar developmental transitions in the mother-infant relationship, yet at different paces of change. Since ecological pressures shape life-history traits including female reproductive rate and timing of infant independence, research is needed on mother-infant relationships in wild populations exposed to energetic constraints and predation risk. Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) of the study population are seasonal breeders living in an unpredictable environment, where fluctuating food availability imposes energetic challenges on mothers and infants. We quantitatively describe how maternal care and offspring independence develop througho

SUBMITTER: Arbaiza-Bayona AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12820445 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature