Female social preferences and mating behavior in captive group-living baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis): An experimental study.

Abstract

In recent years an increasing amount of research has been devoted to examining the importance of female mate choice among nonhuman primates. However, our understanding of this topic is limited due to the observational nature of most studies, which cannot clearly distinguish between females preferences and female choice. In particular, observational studies alone cannot tease apart the effects of female mating preferences from the effects of male behavioral influences upon females (e.g. male-male competition and male sexual coercion). In response to the lack of information on female preferences in primate species, I conducted an experimental study on captive savanna baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis), that allowed females to express their preferences in the absence of male opportunities to exclude rival males or coerce females. This was accomplished by removing a female and three males, including the female's current consort partner, from a naturalistic group setting and placing them in a free-choice situation in which females were given complete control over their interactions with males. Comparisons were made between female preferences in the experimental condition and female behavior in the group setting to (a) determine the extent to which females form consortships with preferred males, and (b) assess whether female affiliative behavior in the group setting predicts female preferences in the experimental setting. Analysis of experimental trials indicated that most females showed distinct preferences for one male when given the opportunity to choose from among three males. In addition, most females showed a preference for their most frequent consort partner. Finally, a strong association was found between female grooming of males in the corral, consort formation, and trial preferences. These results suggest that female preference for consort males is based on their affiliative preferences for those males in the outdoor corral. This study also reveals striking individual variation in which males female preferred. These results suggest that, in contrast to other species, including birds, fish, and rodents, in which females often base their preferences on singular male morphological traits, among baboons, female preferences are based, at least in part, on relationship-specific benefits provided by males.