Monogamy consists of staying with the same fellow to procreate for a long period of time that sometimes lasts a lifetime. Human beings have completely naturalized this social attitude but it is not so common in other species of mammals. What are the causes of monogamous behavior? Two studies published this week raise answers to this question.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) affirm in the journal Science that animal monogamy is mainly due to the desire of the male to keep his female and not so much to natural selection, as the offspring have a better chance of survival if they count with the care of both parents. It would therefore be a strategy to preserve the couple.
In their study they have used genetic maps of the species. “We looked for information on each of the known species of mammals (there are about 5,400), consulting multiple sources and consulting our classification with scientists who are conducting field studies,” explained Dieter Lukas, lead author of the research.
The results also clarify that monogamy is less frequent in herbivorous species as they have these more facilities to obtain food. On the other hand, monogamy has evolved in non-human mammalian species in which fertile females are not related to each other and their density is low. According to scientists, these statements cannot be extrapolated to the human species.
On the other hand, in the study at the University College London (United Kingdom) focused on primates, the researchers analyzed 230 species and obtained different conclusions: in the case of our peers, monogamy would have evolved due to the threat of infanticide by other males . In this case, staying with the partner would be a consequence of said priority protection function.
