Journal
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
Volume 64, Issue 4, Pages 515-528Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0867-6
Keywords
Harem size; Intrasexual competition; Mating success; Offspring survival; Variance in reproductive success
Categories
Funding
- Brevard Zoo
- The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
- Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
- Cleveland Metropark Zoo
- Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
- Margot Marsh Biodiversity Fund
- Houston Zoo
- Houston Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo
- Knoxville Zoo
- Little Rock Zoo
- National Geographic Society
- Santa Barbara Zoo
- Sea World AMP
- Busch Gardens Conservation Fund
- Toronto Zoo
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- Woodland Park Zoo
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD
- Leakey Foundation
- Max Planck Society
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Variance in male reproductive success is expected to be high in sexually dimorphic mammals, even when it is modulated by the costs and benefits of group living. Here, we investigate the variance in reproductive success of male western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), a highly dimorphic primate with long-term male-female associations, using 12.5 years of data collected at Mbeli Bai in northern Congo. Access to mates and offspring survival were both major sources of variance in male reproductive success. Males with larger harems had lower offspring mortality with no apparent reduction in female fertility or observed tenure length, so the size of harems did not seem to be limited by female feeding competition or by the risk of takeovers and infanticide by outsider males. The lower mortality in larger harems may reflect improved vigilance against predators, and females may cluster around males that enhance offspring survival. Thus, this study illustrates how a detailed analysis of the components of male reproductive success can shed light on the interrelated social and ecological aspects that affect it.
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