An adolescent female bonobo. Credit: Verena Behringer
Weight and length development curves corresponded with each other and with patterns of testosterone and IGFBP-3 levels that resemble teen hormone rises in people,” states first author Andreas Berghänel from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology (KLIVV) at the University of Veterinary Medicine about the results.
Re-interpretation of studies supplies different insights
In a third step, data published in other studies on non-human primates were reinterpreted. The results revealed that teen growth spurt in weight and length takes place not just in bonobos however most likely also in other monkeys.
Silhouette of a bonobo. The location marked in red on the forearm was determined. Credit: Verena Behringer
” Our outcomes underline the importance of taking scaling laws into account when interpreting development curves in basic,” summarizes Verena Behringer, a researcher in the Endocrinology Laboratory at the German Primate Center and senior author of the publication. “Furthermore, our information show that noticable, human-like adolescent growth spurts in body weight and body length exist not just in bonobos however probably also in lots of other non-human primates.”
Recommendation: “Adolescent length growth spurts in bonobos and other primates: Mind the scale” by Andreas Berghänel, Jeroen M.G. Stevens, Gottfried Hohmann, Tobias Deschner and Verena Behringer, 29 June 2023, eLife.DOI: 10.7554/ eLife.86635.1.
The study was performed in cooperation with researchers from Odisee University of Applied Sciences, Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation, the Antwerp University, the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and for Animal Behaviour, and the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabrück. In addition, 19 zoos offered their data and contributed significantly to the success of the study.
Current research shows that adolescent development spurts in body length and weight take place in various primate species, not just people, and suggests that previous misunderstandings were due to methodological mistakes. Up to this point, it has actually been extensively agreed that the growth spurt in body length during human adolescence is an unique evolutionary function not present in other primates. A recent research study released in the journal eLife suggests that numerous primate species, consisting of people, actually experience a development spurt in body weight throughout teenage years. These information consisted of weight and length development, as well as a number of physiological markers related to development and puberty. “We discovered noticable growth spurts in body weight and body length in both sexes.
Recent research study shows that adolescent growth spurts in body length and weight take place in various primate types, not just human beings, and suggests that previous misconceptions was because of methodological mistakes. Above is a bonobo mother with an infant. Credit: Verena Behringer
Growth spurts throughout puberty are not distinct in evolutionary terms.
As much as this point, it has actually been widely agreed that the development spurt in body length during human adolescence is an unique evolutionary function not present in other primates. However, a current study released in the journal eLife indicates that numerous primate types, consisting of human beings, really experience a development spurt in body weight during adolescence. The research study recommends that the inconsistency may emerge from methodological issues.
Mind the scale …
In their clinical work, the researchers used 3 techniques: They initially described how scaling issues and incorrect comparisons in between development rates of body length (linear) and weight (volume) can result in deceptive interpretations, effectively comparing apples to oranges.
Bonobos body development was figured out by measuring forearm lengths in a Plexiglas tube. Credit: Jeroen MG Stevens
… results in fix results
Consequently, the research team applied a scale-corrected approach to a substantial dataset of 258 zoo-living bonobos. These information included weight and length development, as well as numerous physiological markers connected to development and adolescence. “We discovered noticable development spurts in body weight and body length in both sexes.