Infanticide in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni</Emphasis> in the Kakamega Forest,Kenya: Variation in the Occurrence of an Adaptive Behavior |
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Authors: | Marina Cords James L Fuller |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University New York, New York, NY 10027, USA;(2) New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA |
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Abstract: | Infanticide by males is widespread across mammals and especially prevalent among primates. Considerable research has examined
how fitness benefits can explain the occurrence of this behavior; less is known, however, about intrapopulation variation
in its occurrence. We evaluated 10 infanticides by males in wild blue monkeys according to the sexual selection hypothesis.
To explore intrapopulation variation in occurrence of infanticide, we compared these cases to 38 cases that were contextually
similar but in which infanticide did not occur. We examined male reproductive benefit, infant age, maternal parity, postconception
estrus, group defense, available mating partners, and context of takeover. We based comparisons on daily or near daily records
of male presence in the study groups, infant birth dates, and male-female sexual interactions. Infanticides followed predictions
of the sexual selection hypothesis: males were unlikely to kill their own offspring, the period for the mother’s return to
conception was reduced by half, and males increased their chance of siring her next offspring. Difference in male reproductive
benefit, costs, and motivation did not fully explain the observed variation in infanticide occurrence. Infants were more likely
to be spared if they were older when a male first arrived, or if their mother had mated with the male in the second month
after conception. The most important determinant of infant fate, however, was male identity, a finding consistent with 2 scenarios:
1) an infanticidal tendency may be influenced by a genetic polymorphism that is not fixed in this population or 2) infanticidal
behavior may be a conditional male strategy. Further research on intrapopulation variation in infanticidal behavior should
focus especially on characteristics of males. |
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