2001/12/07 by Michael Hestermann, Thomas Ziegler, Carel P. van Schaik +3 · 1 citation
Psychology · #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
paper · doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1833
openalex publication_date 2001/12/07 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
Ovarian cycles in catarrhine primates are uniquely characterized by prolonged periods of sexual activity in which the timings of ovulation and copulation do not necessarily correspond. According to current hypotheses of primate social evolution, extended sexuality in multi-male groups might represent part of a female strategy to confuse paternity in order to reduce the risk of infanticide by males. We test this hypothesis by examining mating behaviour in relation to timing of ovulation and paternity outcome in a multi-male group of free-living Hanuman langurs. Using faecal progestogen measurements, we first document that female langurs have extended receptive periods in which the timing of ovulation is highly variable. Next, we demonstrate the capacity for paternity confusion by showing that ovulation is concealed from males and that copulations progressively decline throughout the receptive phase. Finally, we demonstrate multiple paternity, and show that despite a high degree of monopolization of receptive females by the dominant male, non-dominant males father a substantial proportion of offspring. We believe that this is the first direct evidence that extended periods of sexual activity in catarrhine primates may have evolved as a female strategy to confuse paternity.