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Huang X, Hu NQ, He K, Guan ZH, Garber PA, Chapman CA, Jiang XL, Fan PF. Disassociation of social and sexual partner relationships in a gibbon population with stable one-male two-female groups. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23394. [PMID: 35612520 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Adult males living in a one-male multi-female social group are expected to try to monopolize copulations with resident females to increase reproductive fitness. Gibbons have traditionally been described as living in monogamous groups, with the sole resident adult male assumed to sire all of the group's offspring. Here, we used microsatellite analyses and behavioral observations to examine rates of extra-group paternity (EGP) over 16 years in a population of crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) that form stable and long-term one-male two-female social units. Forty percent of offspring (N = 14) were sired by extra-group males. To understand this high level of EGP, we tested whether inbreeding avoidance was related to EGP. Females who engaged in EGP did not show larger pairwise relatedness with their resident male compared to females who did not engage in EGP. Nevertheless, the standardized heterozygosity of EGP offspring was significantly higher than for offspring sired by the group's resident male. These results provide partial support for the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis. It appears that resident male crested gibbons are unable to monopolize resident females' matings. Our results indicate that long-term social partners are often distinct from sexual partners in this population. Clearly, the breeding system of crested gibbons is more flexible than previously thought, indicating a need for integrating long-term behavioral data and genetic research to re-evaluate gibbon social and sexual relationships derived from concepts of monogamy and pair-bonding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Huang
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nai-Qing Hu
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Kai He
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Application in Biodiversity of South China, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhen-Hua Guan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,Yunnan Academy of Biodiversity, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
| | - Paul A Garber
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Colin A Chapman
- Wilson Center, Washington DC, USA.,School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.,Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.,Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Xue-Long Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Peng-Fei Fan
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Fan P, He X, Yang Y, Liu X, Zhang H, Yuan L, Chen W, Liu D, Fan P. Reproductive Parameters of Captive Female Northern White-Cheeked (Nomascus leucogenys) and Yellow-Cheeked (Nomascus gabriellae) Gibbons. INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00187-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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