Primate Behavior and Conservation - Essay Example

Primates tend to live in groups. The one factor that is the most important is ecological factors and female-female associations as a result of this (Wrangham, 1980, van Schaik, 1983 from Weingrill, 2000). This can be explained as predation pressure which determines the lower limit to the size of the group whilst the upper limit is determined by the presence of food with regards to time and space. The combination of these factors is responsible for the social dynamics between females of a group (van Schail, 1983; Dunbar, 1988 from Weingrill, 2000).

The distribution of males, on the other hand, is dependent on the number of mating opportunities (Emlen and Oring, 1977 from Weingrill, 2000). In addition to female-female relations and male-male relationships, an important relationship to be considered is the male-female interaction. In the majority of mammals, intersexual relationships happen only fleetingly during the year. In contrast, over two thirds of primates have male-female associations (van Schaik and Kappeler, 1997). In most primates like the savannah baboons, the associations between males and females last for reasonably long periods of time.

There appears to be benefits to both sexes from this association. For males the main benefit is an improved chance of mating with the female (pre-mating effort hypothesis (Seyfarth, 1978; Smuts, 1985 from Weingrill, 2000)) . Secondly, the fitness of the offspring after birth may be improved through association with a particular female as the male will be more able to defend the infants and provide them with access to certain resources (post mating effort hypothesis ((Packer, 1980; Busse and Hamilton, 1981; Noe and Sluijter, 1990 from Weingrill, 2000).

Females, on the other hand, benefit as males are more powerful physically than them in conflict situations and can act as protectors both for the female and her offspring. This can lead to a reduction in infanticide. (Weingrill,2000). Three different hypotheses have been proposed to explain infanticide. The first is the social-pathology hypothesis whereby infanticide by primates is believed to be as a result of uncomfortable living conditions such as overpopulation having to fight for resources.

The second hypothesis is the side-effect hypothesis whereby infanticide results from aggression between males (Sussman et al., 1995 from Weingrill, 2000). The third hypothesis is the sexual-selection hypothesis. This is the most commonly used explanation and this is when male primates kill unrelated offspring so as to quicken the female’s next ovulation and increase their chances of mating with that female (Soltis et al, 2000).