Male and Female Reproductive Strategies in Primates and Their Comparison to Humans
Simuel Lands
November 4, 2016
Research Paper/Anthropology 161
Male and Female Reproductive Strategies in Primates and Their Comparison to Humans
Introduction
The male and female primates have different reproductive strategies. The female’s approaches are similar in all the species while those of males differ according to the species that they belong (Bercovitch, 1991). Female primates invest in their offspring in terms of time and energy. They provide food for the infant even if it means competing with other females until the infant can look after itself. At this point, the female can focus on getting another offspring. However, the number of offspring that she will get is limited by the gestation and lactating periods (Winkler, 1988). Males do not contribute in the nurturing of the infant but may protect it from predators to some extent. The number of babies they can have is unlimited since they can mate with as many females as they want.
Food determines the reproductive success of females since it affects its birth rate and infant survival (Masters, 1983). The effort invested in mating determines the reproductive success of male primates. Human female reproductive success is as well dependent on nutrition since it determines the success of the gestation period and the survival of the infant. Women as well invest more in their offspring, similar to primates, while men perform
“Pair Living Primates have several unique characteristics that set them apart from other nonhuman primates. Monogamous Primates are two primates of different sexes that mate exclusively with one and other. The unique qualities of these animals are a result of the ecological constraints that these primates face. Because of the exclusive and solitary relationship that is monogamy there is a lack of specialized defensive roles by the adult male, which is also extensively involved in paternal care. Monogamous primates are highly territorial and very closely associated, Morphologically, there is a lack of sexual dimorphism amongst pair living primates, this is due to the exclusively and predictable genetic outcome of these animals mating with only
A key element in the life of any individual is to be able to reproduce. Nonhuman primates number only 250 species but display great diversity in grouping patterns. We call some of these types of groupings a one male polygyny or monogamy. However, the main focus today is that these primates have evolved different strategies, behavioral and ecological, to cop with the need to balance limited food supplies while avoiding predators with intensions of mating and or harming their offspring. It has been assumed that in order for male primates to reach mating success, they must have to take on the task of always being present to the female and her offspring’s. I believe that I will argue that monogamy and one male polygyny are different yet both
b. Transnational trafficking of W – transportation of W from one country to another, usually for the purposes of prostitution
There are many theories that try to explain relationships between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour. Evolutionary theory is one such theory.
When discussing female long-term mating strategies, it has been identified that there are certain preferences in which a female desire from a mate (Buss, 2008). Preferences include, a preference for economic resources, a preference for industriousness and ambition, a preference for a good physical appearance and health, and also a preference for dependability and stability. Females prefer someone they can invest in and someone that is willing to invest in them also. And they also desire a mate that can physically protect them and their children and that is both healthy and displays compatibility. There are preconditions as too why these preferences have evolved, such as the idea that resources have been made more defensible and accruable and are more controlled by men, and the idea that men would have to be different between each other in their willingness to somewhat invest their resources in both women and their children. Belsky et al (1991) discovered that some men would rather invest in many women rather than one women and their children as this would mean them
These social behaviors with both these primates can be connected to human social behaviors. Humans are considered to be male dominant species that in certain cases civilization required males to abuse women to assert their male dominance. Also, there are times when two different civilizations collided there was usually warfare due to this interaction. Intercourse for the human species is also not used for just reproduction but also for pleasure and in some instances to solidify relationships. Although, there are other social factors that separate human’s social behavior and the primates. Such as appears being a mainly a main factor, but also bonobo mothers breast-feeds her child for five year while human are for two years. Another variant of social behaviors between primates and humans comes from an experiment done with bonobos. A scientist held two pieces of pipe, that can fit into once another, but the scientist porously fails to attach the pipes together in front of bonobos to see if the bonobo can insert
I decided to look at the sexual behavior of bonobos because they are known for their frequent sexual behavior. Though they are not one of the types of great apes mentioned in the book, a bonobo is nonetheless a great ape that belongs in the same genus as the common chimpanzee. Furuichi et al. observed bonobos in their naturalistic habitat in Wamba, Democratic Republic
The Female Reproductive System parts are gametes, which is a mature haploid male or female germ cell that is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in several reproductions to form a zygote. Egg is a person possessing a specified quantity. Ovum is a mature female reproductive cell especially of a human or other animal that van divide to give rise to an embryo usually only after fertilization by a male cell. Vaginal is a muscular tube leading from the external genitals to the cervix of the uterus in women and most female mammals. Labia is the inner and outer folds of the vulva, at either side of the vagina. Clitoris is a small sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals at the anterior end of the vulva. Urethra is a duct by
Thus, her breeding span is limited (79). In contrast, for males, it is minimal. He simply must produce sperm cells and go through with an act of copulation, in effect, his reproductive capability is limited by the number of females he mates with (Contrary to popular belief, humans are not a monogamous species but a largely monogamous and partly polgynous species) (Gray 79& 83). In addition, males must play the aggressor role in relationships and are more attracted to physical stimuli (Kanin pg. 71). These all require that males recognize love much more quicker then females (Kanin pg. 71).
Addressing the various mating systems of primates and its relation to sexual size dimorphism and behavior contributes to understanding evolutionary processes and patterns. The different methods of mating are significant to study because they demonstrate the outcomes of natural selection on mate choice. These varying mating methods also aide in understanding the origin of
Sex is a mode of reproduction and a way for a large number of organisms to reproduce. But is sexual reproduction really advantageous? There are advantages and disadvantages to sexual reproduction.
Do you know how you were born? Do you know how you came to be? The reproductive system is the system that made that all possible. Without the reproductive system you wouldn’t have been born. In order to produce offspring, the male and female reproductive systems have to be different. Each system has different parts, problems and care. Each system have different purposes, the male reproductive system’s function is to produce sperm, while the female reproductive system’s function is to produce ova, store ova and house a fertilized egg.
biased between the male and the female reproductive biology. The article focuses on the role of
Another evolutionary explanation of gender development is mate choice, which suggests that gender role behaviours are related to reproductive strategies. It is thought that men will look for women who are young whereas women are usually more interested in the resources of a mate. This can be explained from an evolutionary perspective as mating with a physically attractive woman
This development perspective is based in large component on the fact that humans are mammals. Male and female mammals differ enormously in energetic investment in generating offspring. Female mammals produce not only eggs but also a body which fetal growth takes place. After birth, they are required to produce milk and care for their offspring until the age of weaning. Males are required to produce sperm at the time of fertilization, and that is all. Following investment, “which can take the form if provisioning a pregnant or lactating female or providing food for the young, is not required, and in many species, including most primate species, males do not directly participate or invest in rearing young” ((Standford, John, & Anton, 2013, p.