Menopause and reproductive senescence in comparative context.

Abstract

Menopause and reproductive senescence can be more fully understood by examining these phenomena where they occur in nonhuman mammals, as well as humans, and especially by comparisons among primates. In addition to concerns about human health and welfare, successful programs for wildlife management and agriculture, and the propagation and conservation of endangered species depend on detailed understanding of reproduction and fertility throughout the life span. Appropriate care of elderly primates in zoological gardens also requires knowledge of their health, behavior, and reproductive status. Information on female primate fertility, reproductive senescence, and associated health-risks is scattered throughout the scientific literature, and includes emphases ranging from comparative medicine and primate models of human health to zoology and human evolution. This chapter introduces a range of issues and reviews studies of female primate reproductive senescence and menopause. These topics are examined in greater depth in the subsequent chapters of this volume.