PSYC 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Female Promiscuity, Parental Investment, Pair Bond
Document Summary
Monogamy a male or female mates with only one individual. Polygyny a male lates with multiple females/female mates with a single male. Polyandry a female mates with multiple males/male mates with a single female. Female-enforced monogamy it may be advantageous for males to mate with several females but females prevent the males from being polygynous. Male monogamy in mammals: less than 3% of mammals, more common in birds, mammals have significant parental investment, females carry young and provide milk, most mammals are polygynous, the rare exceptions may allow for testing hypotheses. Mate assistance hypothesis problems: many species of primates that practice monogamy do not require males to prevent infanticide, across a wide variety of mammalian species there is no significant correlation between parental care and monogamy. In 90% of bird species some of the females will mate with males other than their partner.
