Data from: Costs of reproduction in a long-lived female primate: injury risk and wound healing

Reproduction is a notoriously costly phase of life, exposing individuals
to injury, infectious disease, and energetic tradeoffs. The strength of
these costs should be influenced by life history strategies, and in
long-lived species, females may be selected to mitigate costs of
reproduction because life span is such an important component of their
reproductive success. Here we report evidence for two costs of
reproduction that may influence survival in wild female baboons— injury
risk and delayed wound healing. Based on 29 years of observations in the
Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya, we found that wild female baboons experienced
the highest risk of injury on days when they were most likely to be
ovulating. In addition, lactating females healed from wounds more slowly
than pregnant or cycling females, indicating a possible tradeoff between
lactation and immune function. We also found variation in injury risk and
wound healing with dominance rank and age: older and low-status females
were more likely to be injured than younger or high-status females, and
older females exhibited slower healing than younger females. Our results
support the idea that wild non-human primates experience energetic and
immune costs of reproduction, and they help illuminate life history
tradeoffs in long-lived species.