Social competition and its consequences in female mammals

Clutton‐Brock, Tim; Huchard, Élise

doi:10.1111/jzo.12023

Cited by 148 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 259 publications

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“…This finding adds to evidence from a range of social mammals that females compete for reproduction by killing the offspring of rival breeders (42), and supports the proposal that policing plays a fundamental role in the evolution of cooperation in vertebrates as well as insects (43). However, the finding also suggests that reproductive coercion may extend well beyond the systems in which infanticide is common.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Cant

Nichols

Johnstone

et al. 2013

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

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The evolution of cooperation in animal and human societies is associated with mechanisms to suppress individual selfishness. In insect societies, queens and workers enforce cooperation by “policing” selfish reproduction by workers. Insect policing typically takes the form of damage limitation after individuals have carried out selfish acts (such as laying eggs). In contrast, human policing is based on the use of threats that deter individuals from acting selfishly in the first place, minimizing the need for damage limitation. Policing by threat could in principle be used to enforce reproductive suppression in animal societies, but testing this idea requires an experimental approach to simulate reproductive transgression and provoke out-of-equilibrium behavior. We carried out an experiment of this kind on a wild population of cooperatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Uganda. In this species, each group contains multiple female breeders that give birth to a communal litter, usually on the same day. In a 7-y experiment we used contraceptive injections to manipulate the distribution of maternity within groups, triggering hidden threats of infanticide. Our data suggest that older, socially dominant females use the threat of infanticide to deter selfish reproduction by younger females, but that females can escape the threat of infanticide by synchronizing birth to the same day as older females. Our study shows that reproduction in animal societies can be profoundly influenced by threats that remain hidden until they are triggered experimentally. Coercion may thus extend well beyond the systems in which acts of infanticide are common.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Cant

Nichols

Johnstone

et al. 2013

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

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“…In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the causes and evolutionary consequences of intra-sexual competition among females [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. This has been born in part of recognition that, while males (generally being the lighter investor per offspring) typically compete more intensely for mates [15][16][17][18], females frequently compete strongly for the rank or resources necessary for reproduction (doubtless due in part to typically being the heavier investor) [1][2][3][4][5][6][19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra-sexual selection in cooperative mammals and birds: why are females not bigger and better armed?

Young

Bennett

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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In cooperatively breeding mammals and birds, intra-sexual reproductive competition among females may often render variance in reproductive success higher among females than males, leading to the prediction that intra-sexual selection in such species may have yielded the differential exaggeration of competitive traits among females. However, evidence to date suggests that female-biased reproductive variance in such species is rarely accompanied by female-biased sexual dimorphisms. We illustrate the problem with data from wild Damaraland mole-rat, Fukomys damarensis, societies: the variance in lifetime reproductive success among females appears to be higher than that among males, yet males grow faster, are much heavier as adults and sport larger skulls and incisors (the weapons used for fighting) for their body lengths than females, suggesting that intra-sexual selection has nevertheless acted more strongly on the competitive traits of males. We then consider potentially general mechanisms that could explain these disparities by tempering the relative intensity of selection for competitive trait exaggeration among females in cooperative breeders. Key among these may be interactions with kin selection that could nevertheless render the variance in inclusive fitness lower among females than males, and fundamental aspects of the reproductive biology of females that may leave reproductive conflict among females more readily resolved without overt physical contests.

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“…As highlighted in this Theme Issue by Clutton-Brock & Huchard [80], there are many qualitative similarities in intrasexual competition between males and females, as exemplified by instances of competition for resources needed for survival and reproduction among social or group-living species (see also [3,4,79]). For both sexes, living in groups intensifies competition for limited resources, such that selection favours traits that enhance competitive ability.…”

Section: Interdisciplinary Perspectives On Female Aggression (A) Evolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar competitive traits, including displays and ornaments, as well as weaponry and aggression, are found in both sexes to varying degrees, and competition for resources is mediated by social mechanisms that operate both within and between groups. Moreover, the selection pressures responsible for the evolution of competitive traits in females often appear similar to those in males, including intrasexual competition for breeding opportunities and to attract preferred mates [5][6][7]36,79,80].…”

Section: Interdisciplinary Perspectives On Female Aggression (A) Evolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female competition and aggression: interdisciplinary perspectives

Stockley

Campbell

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

167

119

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This paper introduces a Theme Issue combining interdisciplinary perspectives in the study of female competition and aggression. Despite a history of being largely overlooked, evidence is now accumulating for the widespread evolutionary significance of female competition. Here, we provide a synthesis of contributions to this Theme Issue on humans and other vertebrates, and highlight directions for future research. Females compete for resources needed to survive and reproduce, and for preferred mates. Although female aggression takes diverse forms, under most circumstances relatively low-risk competitive strategies are favoured, most probably due to constraints of offspring production and care. In social species, dominance relationships and threats of punishment can resolve social conflict without resort to direct aggression, and coalitions or alliances may reduce risk of retaliation. Consistent with these trends, indirect aggression is a low cost but effective form of competition among young women. Costs are also minimized by flexibility in expression of competitive traits, with aggressive behaviour and competitive signalling tailored to social and ecological conditions. Future research on female competition and the proximate mediators of female aggression will be greatly enhanced by opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, as evidenced by contributions to this Theme Issue.

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Social competition and its consequences in female mammals

Cited by 148 publications

References 259 publications

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal

Intra-sexual selection in cooperative mammals and birds: why are females not bigger and better armed?

Female competition and aggression: interdisciplinary perspectives

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