Testing the priority-of-access model in a seasonally breeding primate species |
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Authors: | Constance Dubuc Michael Heistermann Antje Engelhardt Anja Widdig |
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Institution: | 1.Junior Research Group of Primate Sexual Selection, Reproductive Biology Unit,German Primate Center,G?ttingen,Germany;2.Département d’anthropologie,Université de Montréal,Montreal,Canada;3.Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology,Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology,Leipzig,Germany;4.Courant Research Center “Evolution of Social Behavior”,Georg-August-Universit?t G?ttingen,G?ttingen,Germany;5.Reproductive Biology Unit,German Primate Center,G?ttingen,Germany;6.Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology,University of Leipzig,Leipzig,Germany |
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Abstract: | In mammals, when females are clumped in space, male access to receptive females is usually determined by a dominance hierarchy
based on fighting ability. In polygynandrous primates, as opposed to most mammalian species, the strength of the relationship
between male social status and reproductive success varies greatly. It has been proposed that the degree to which paternity
is determined by male rank decreases with increasing female reproductive synchrony. The priority-of-access model (PoA) predicts
male reproductive success based on female synchrony and male dominance rank. To date, most tests of the PoA using paternity
data involved nonseasonally breeding species. Here, we examine whether the PoA explains the relatively low reproductive skew
in relation to dominance rank reported in the rhesus macaque, a strictly seasonal species. We collected behavioral, genetic,
and hormonal data on one group of the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) for 2 years. The PoA correctly
predicted the steepness of male reproductive skew, but not its relationship to male dominance: the most successful sire, fathering
one third of the infants, was high but not top ranking. In contrast, mating success was not significantly skewed, suggesting
that other mechanisms than social status contributed to male reproductive success. Dominance may be less important for paternity
in rhesus macaques than in other primate species because it is reached through queuing rather than contest, leading to alpha
males not necessarily being the strongest or most attractive male. More work is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms determining
paternity in rhesus macaques. |
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