Sexual Dimorphism, the Operational Sex Ratio, and the Intensity of Male Competition in Polygynous Primates

Mitani, John C.; Gros‐Louis, Julie; Richards, A. F.

doi:10.1086/285888

Cited by 313 publications

(217 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Female body size is related to fertility in many species (97)(98)(99)(100)(101). Male body size, and muscle mass in particular, is expected to affect competitive ability, an important determinant of reproductive access (102)(103)(104)(105)(106). Other factors, such as social relationships and sperm competition, may be of greater importance to fitness in some primates (107).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Thompson

Muller

Sabbi

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Life history theory predicts a trade-off between offspring quality and quantity. Among large-bodied mammals, prolonged lactation and infant dependence suggest particularly strong potential for a qualityquantity trade-off to exist. Humans are one of the only such species to have been examined, providing mixed evidence under a peculiar set of circumstances, including extensive nutritional provisioning by nonmothers and extrasomatic wealth transmission. Here, we examine trade-offs between reproductive rate and one aspect of offspring quality (body size) in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), a species with long periods of infant dependence and little direct provisioning. Juvenile lean body mass, estimated using urinary creatinine excretion, was positively associated with the interval to the next sibling's birth. These effects persisted into adolescence and were not moderated by maternal identity. Maternal depletion could not explain poor offspring growth, as older mothers had larger offspring, and low maternal energy balance during lactation predicted larger, not smaller, juvenile size. Instead, our data suggest that offspring growth suffers when mothers wean early to invest in new reproductive efforts. These findings indicate that chimpanzee mothers with the resources to do so prioritize production of new offspring over prolonged investment in current offspring.life history | growth | reproduction | primates | weaning P arents face a fundamental life-history trade-off between producing more offspring and investing in the quality of each progeny (1-4). This offspring quality-quantity trade-off, along with a trade-off between reproductive investment and parental survival, means that maximizing reproductive rates is often not the strategy that maximizes fitness (5-7). The quality-quantity trade-off has been empirically demonstrated in species that produce litters or clutches, where large litter size often leads to small offspring size, slow growth rates, and reduced survival, particularly under conditions of ecological stress (8-11). Comparative analyses also support a negative interspecific relationship between reproductive rate and offspring size (12, 13). The quality-quantity trade-off has rarely been examined in species for which single births are the norm, and for which reproductive rate is determined by the interval between successive births. Such species are important tests of the model, as a slow breeding strategy suggests a particularly potent trade-off between offspring investment and reproductive rate. Understanding how individuals negotiate this trade-off can provide important insights into the evolution of reproductive biology and behavior.Data on humans are valuable because humans invest intensively in offspring, yet have highly variable reproductive rates. Many studies find the predicted negative relationship between reproductive rates and offspring growth or health (14-18) or demonstrate fitness maximization at intermediate levels of fertility (19-21). For example, when a water tap was ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Thompson

Muller

Sabbi

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…However, there are other factors including developmental, phylogenetic, and genetic constraints, natural selection, and epiphenomenal factors that can influence the expression of dimorphism in species (Crook, 1972;Clutton-Brock et al, 1977;Leutenegger and Kelly, 1977;Harvey et al, 1978;Cheverud, 1982, 1985;Gaulin and Sailer, 1984;Cheverud et al, 1985;CluttonBrock, 1985;Gautier-Hion and Gautier, 1985;Leutenegger and Lubach, 1987;Shea, 1986;Oxnard, 1987;Kay et al, 1988;Ely and Kurland, 1989;Kappeler, 1990Kappeler, , 1991Kappeler, , 1996Greenfield, 1992aGreenfield, ,b, 1996Leigh, 1992Leigh, , 1995aPlavcan and van Schaik, 1992, 1997bFord, 1994;Martin et al, 1994;Hayes et al, 1995;Leigh and Shea, 1995;Mitani et al, 1996;Plavcan, 1998Plavcan, , 1999. The relative importance of these factors to the expression of dimorphism among primates has been at times a topic of heated debate.…”

Section: Sexual Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such data are not available for the overwhelming majority of species. Hence, all tests of the sexual selection hypothesis use surrogate measures of sexual selection that are derived from behavioral and demographic data that are assumed to reflect the strength of sexual selection (Mitani et al, 1996;Plavcan, 1999). This issue is critical in any attempt to claim that one factor is more or less important than another in the evolution of sexual dimorphism.…”

Section: History Of Comparative Studies Of Dimorphism-sexual Selectiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The theory was laid out by Emlen and Orling (1977), but not applied to primates until 1996 (Mitani et al, 1996). Emlen and Orling (1977) noted that differential male reproductive success should be a function not only of the sex ratio in a population, but also of the actual ability of males to monopolize access to females.…”

Section: History Of Comparative Studies Of Dimorphism-sexual Selectiomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual dimorphism in primate evolution

Plavcan

2001

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

371

191

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Sexual dimorphism is a pervasive phenomenon among anthropoid primates. Comparative analyses over the past 30 years have greatly expanded our understanding of both variation in the expression of dimorphism among primates, and the underlying causes of sexual dimorphism. Dimorphism in body mass and canine tooth size is familiar, as is pelage and "sex skin" dimorphism. More recent analyses are documenting subtle differences in the pattern of skeletal dimorphism among primates. Comparative analyses have corroborated the sexual selection hypotheses, and have provided a more detailed understanding of the relationship between sexual selection, natural selection, and mating systems in primates. A clearer picture is emerging of the relative contribution of various selective and nonselective mechanisms in the evolution and expression of dimorphism. Most importantly, recent studies have shown that dimorphism is the product of changes in both male and female traits. Developmental studies demonstrate the variety of ontogenetic pathways that can lead to dimorphism, and provide additional insight into the selective mechanisms that influence dimorphism throughout the lifetime of an animal. Evidence from the fossil record suggests that dimorphism probably evolved in parallel twice, and the dimorphism in some extinct hominoids probably exceeded that of any living primate. Our advances in understanding the behavioral/ecological correlates of dimorphism in living primates have not improved our ability to reconstruct social systems in extinct species on the basis of dimorphism alone, beyond the inference of polygyny or intense male-male competition. However, our understanding of the behavioral/ecological correlates of growth and development, and of the expression of dimorphism as a function of separate changes in male and female traits, offers great potential for inferring evolutionary changes in behavior over time

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“…On one hand, sexual dimorphism is regarded as an outcome of sex-specific patterns of current sexual and natural selection (e.g., Darwin 1871;Ralls 1976;Lande 1980;Slatkin 1984;Arak 1988;Shine 1989). Indeed, concordance between current environmental conditions and degree of dimorphism is well documented (e.g., Earhart and Johnson 1970;Johnston and Fleischer 1981;Payne 1984;Moore 1990;Webster 1992;Promislow et al 1994;Martin and Badyaev 1996;Mitani et al 1996;Badyaev 1997a,b;Poulin 1997;Wikelski and Trillmich 1997). The importance of current selection in explaining observed patterns of sexual dimorphism is further supported by the considerable heritable genetic variation in many sexually dimorphic traits (e.g., Cowley et al 1986;Cowley and Atchley 1988;Reeve and Fairbairn 1996) and by the examples of rapid phenotypic changes in dimorphism under artificial selection (e.g., Wilkinson 1993).…”

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confidence: 99%

Sexual Dimorphism in Relation to Current Selection in the House Finch

Badyaev¹,

Martin

2000

Evolution

104

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Abstract. Sexual dimorphism is thought to have evolved in response to selection pressures that differ between males and females. Our aim in this study was to determine the role of current net selection in shaping and maintaining contemporary sexual dimorphism in a recently established population of the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) in Montana. We found strong differences between sexes in direction of selection on sexually dimorphic traits, significant heritabilities of these traits, and a close congruence between current selection and observed sexual dimorphism in Montana house finches. Strong directional selection on sexually dimorphic traits and similar intensities of selection in each sex suggested that sexual dimorphism arises from adaptive responses in males and females, with both sexes being far from their local fitness optimum. This pattern is expected when a recently established population experiences continuous immigration from ecologically distinct areas of a species range or as a result of widely fluctuating selection pressures, as found in our study. Strong and sexually dimorphic selection pressures on heritable morphological traits, in combination with low phenotypic and genetic covariation among these traits during growth, may have accounted for close congruence between current selection and observed sexual dimorphism in the house finch. This conclusion is consistent with the profound adaptive population divergence in sexual dimorphism that accompanied very successful colonization of most of the North America by the house finch over the last 50 years.Key words. Fecundity, house finch, local adaptation, overwinter survival, pairing success, peripheral population, sexual dimorphism.Received January 27, 1999. Accepted October 26, 1999.The relative importance of selection in evolution and maintenance of sexual dimorphism is a much debated issue. On one hand, sexual dimorphism is regarded as an outcome of sex-specific patterns of current sexual and natural selection (e

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Sexual Dimorphism, the Operational Sex Ratio, and the Intensity of Male Competition in Polygynous Primates

Cited by 313 publications

References 78 publications

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees

Sexual dimorphism in primate evolution

Sexual Dimorphism in Relation to Current Selection in the House Finch

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