@article{c011904dc677481c8dee03a58ea7d165,
title = "Multilevel societies facilitate infanticide avoidance through increased extrapair matings",
abstract = "In mammals characterized by a mating system in which a single male monopolizes reproduction, infanticide is reported to occur following a male take-over, often resulting in females returning to oestrus more rapidly than if their infant has survived. However, over the course of a 17-year study of golden snub-nosed monkeys, Rhinopithecus roxellana, a polygynous colobine species, we found no behavioural or suspected evidence of infanticide. Based on social network and genetic analyses, we found that more than half of the infants were sired as a result of extrapair matings (EPMs). Female golden snub-nosed monkeys initiated EPMs with bachelor or neighbouring resident males. These were considered {\textquoteleft}sneaky{\textquoteright} copulations because they did not occur in the presence of the leader male of the female's one-male unit (OMU). We suggest that through a process of paternity confusion, females decreased the likelihood of infanticide after a male take-over. In contrast, in a group of the same species in which the number of bachelor males was artificially reduced, EPMs were infrequent and four cases of infanticide were observed, three of them following a male take-over. Golden snub-nosed monkeys reside in a large multilevel society that develops by the fusion of several independent OMUs to form a breeding band, which is characterized by increased social cohesion and intrasexual tolerance among leader males. Females play an active role in mate choice, and engage in a diverse set of mating tactics, including counterstrategies such as EPMs to avoid infanticide. These results offer new insights into the diversity of behavioural strategies facilitated by complex social structures in nonhuman primates, as well as other social mammals.",
keywords = "extrapair mating, infanticide avoidance, multilevel society, paternity confusion, Rhinopithecus roxellana",
author = "Qi, {Xiao Guang} and Grueter, {Cyril C.} and Gu Fang and Huang, {Peng Zhen} and Jing Zhang and Duan, {Yan Mei} and Huang, {Zhi Pang} and Garber, {Paul A.} and Li, {Bao Guo}",
note = "Funding Information: We are most grateful to the Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve (ZNNR) for permission to carry out this study. We thank Dr Alan F. Dixson, Dr Weihong Ji and Dr Derek W. Dunn for advice and comments on this article. We appreciate the local guide in Yuhuangmiao area of Qinling Mountains, and all students from the Primate Research Centre of Northwest University for their support during the study, especially Dr Kang Huang and Dr Yu-Li Li. We thank Dr Zuo-Fu Xiang who provided comparative data from the SNJ monkey group and comments on the manuscript. Special thanks are due to Mr Jin-Qiang Sun, Professor Ming Li and Dr Zuo-Fu Xiang, who kindly provided photographs used in this article. We appreciate the guidance of the anonymous referees for advice and comments that improved this article. This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, China (31622053, 31470455, 31730104), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (XDB31020302), the Promotional project for Innovation team, the Department of Science and Technology of Shaanxi Prov. China (2018TD-017) and the National Key Program of Research and Development, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, China (2016YFC0503200). Funding Information: We are most grateful to the Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve (ZNNR) for permission to carry out this study. We thank Dr Alan F. Dixson, Dr Weihong Ji and Dr Derek W. Dunn for advice and comments on this article. We appreciate the local guide in Yuhuangmiao area of Qinling Mountains, and all students from the Primate Research Centre of Northwest University for their support during the study, especially Dr Kang Huang and Dr Yu-Li Li. We thank Dr Zuo-Fu Xiang who provided comparative data from the SNJ monkey group and comments on the manuscript. Special thanks are due to Mr Jin-Qiang Sun, Professor Ming Li and Dr Zuo-Fu Xiang, who kindly provided photographs used in this article. We appreciate the guidance of the anonymous referees for advice and comments that improved this article. This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, China ( 31622053 , 31470455 , 31730104 ), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China ( XDB31020302 ), the Promotional project for Innovation team, the Department of Science and Technology of Shaanxi Prov. China ( 2018TD-017 ) and the National Key Program of Research and Development , the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, China ( 2016YFC0503200 ). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Authors",
year = "2020",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.12.014",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "161",
pages = "127--137",
journal = "Animal Behaviour",
issn = "0003-3472",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
}