Social monogamy and the threat of infanticide in larger mammals
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Publication Details
Author list: Borries C., Savini T., Koenig A.
Publication year: 2011
Volume number: 65
Issue number: 4
Start page: 685
End page: 693
Number of pages: 9
ISSN: 0340-5443
eISSN: 0340-5443
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
The evolution of social monogamy in larger mammals is difficult to explain because males usually do not invest much in direct offspring care and might achieve greater fitness by deserting a pregnant female to reproduce with additional females elsewhere. It has been hypothesized that socially monogamous males remain with the female year-round to protect their offspring from infanticide by new immigrant males. We investigated this idea by analyzing all cases of infant loss in a wild population of white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar; Primates), in which most groups were socially monogamous and some polyandrous (137.5 group years). We examined the influence of (a) male intruder pressure on male immigration rates and (b) the presence of a new male in the group on infant loss. We found no relation between intruder pressure and male immigration rates. Infant loss was lowest (4.5%) for stable monogamy (probable father stayed from conception through infancy) and intermediate (25.0%; p = 0.166) for stable polyandry. If a new male immigrated after conception, however, the infant was lost in all cases (p < 0.01) independent of the presumed father's presence. Overall, 83.3% of infant losses were associated with the presence of a presumably unrelated male. Although the sample size is small, our results provide the first true support for the idea that the risk of infanticide is an important factor in the evolution of social monogamy in larger mammals. ฉ 2010 Springer-Verlag.
Keywords
Infant loss, Intruder pressure, Male immigration, Polyandry, Take-over, White-handed gibbon
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