Estradiol concentrations, fat deposits, and reproductive strategies in male rhesus macaques.

Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp.) are thought to undergo a unique pattern of seasonal weight change among the Primates that reflects a fatted male phenomenon. But many male mammals, including rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), undergo circannual weight changes concurrent with mating season activity. Four adult male rhesus macaques living in a heterosexual social group in an outdoor enclosure were studied over a 2-year period in order to ascertain potential mechanisms underlying seasonal weight changes. Alterations in weight were significantly correlated with changes in abdominal fat levels and in body mass index. Neither testosterone nor estradiol fluctuations were correlated with weight changes, but estradiol levels were significantly correlated with body mass index. The annual profile of changes in abdominal fat level reflected the annual profile of variation in circulating estradiol levels. The fatted male phenomenon appears to characterize circannual weight fluctuations in rhesus macaques. Seasonal weight changes resulting from fat deposition are suggested to provide a substrate for adipose tissue aromatization that yields elevated estradiol levels and enables males to forego feeding and concentrate their energy budgets on activities directly related to mate acquisition and retention.