Data and R code for: Survival to weaning in arid-country vervet monkeys

We addressed the relative contributions of maternal rank and sociability to the survival of infant vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) to nutritional independence (~210 days) in a resource-poor environment. Data from 153 infants across three troops and 10 birth cohorts indicated a pre-weaning mortality of 30% (Range: 9%-85%), with a median age at death of 50 days. In addition to the consequences of resource availability, increased infant survival was independently and equivalently associated with higher maternal rank and a greater number of maternal spatial partners. We use this outcome to suggest that apparent discrepancies in the relative importance of different maternal attributes in determining reproductive outcomes may be resolved by considering more closely local sources of infant mortality.本研究探讨了在资源匮乏环境中，母系等级与社交性对黑长尾猴（Chlorocebus pygerythrus）幼崽直至营养独立期（约210日龄）的存活率的相对贡献。研究数据涵盖3个猴群、10个出生队列的153只幼崽，结果显示其断奶前死亡率为30%（区间：9%~85%），幼崽死亡的中位年龄为50日龄。除资源可获得性的影响外，幼崽存活率的提升与更高的母系等级以及更多的母猴空间社交伙伴数量均呈独立且程度相当的关联。基于上述研究结果，我们提出：不同母性特征在繁殖结局决定中相对重要性的表观差异，可通过更细致地考量幼崽死亡的局部诱因加以解决。