DREA, C.M.; Duke University: Bateman revisited: Sexually assertive female primates and their cryptic reproductive tactics

The breeding system of an animal population is thought to depend on the ability of one sex (usually the male) to acquire mates, either directly through association or indirectly through defense of resources. According to this view, the sex that contributes most to infant care (usually the female) is constrained by parental involvement and thereby limits reproduction of the opposite sex. In this scenario, males enhance their mating success by competing either to monopolize females or to monopolize other limiting resources desired by females. This classical view emphasizes the male�s role in maintaining breeding systems as well as reproductive strategies, whereas more recent observations increasingly appreciate the active role played by females. A broadly comparative perspective of primate mating systems, one that includes less traditional models in addition to the often-cited baboon harem, challenges our assumptions about male control and female compliance. Moreover, a comprehensive treatment of reproductive costs and benefits should extend beyond conventional mention of heavy female investment (e.g. gestation, lactation, and infant care), especially with reference to species in which individuals manipulate either their social environment or their reproductive output. Consideration of more subtle aspects of female behavior and physiology (e.g. promiscuity, multiple mating, female-female competition, concealed ovulation, paternity confusion, sperm competition, and reproductive failure) raises the question of whether one sex can ever be monopolized. More generally, patterns of female and male behavior that defy sexual selection theory call for a reexamination of the assumptions of �expensive eggs� and �cheap sperm.�