Infanticide by Males and its Implications

Analysis of impact of infanticide on social organization and reproductive behavior in primates including humans.

Carel P. van Schaik (Edited by), Charles H. Janson (Edited by)

9780521774987, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 2 November 2000

584 pages, 55 b/w illus. 47 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.935 kg

'… useful to anyone whose research concerns involve infanticide especially infanticide by primate males.' Ethology

Male primates, carnivores and rodents sometimes kill infants that they did not sire. Infanticide by males is a relatively common phenomenon in these groups, but tends to be rare in any given species. Is this behavior pathological or accidental, or does it reflect a conditional reproductive strategy for males in certain circumstances? In this book, case studies and reviews confirm the adaptive nature of infanticide in males in primates, and help to predict which species should be vulnerable to it. Much of the book is devoted to exploring the evolutionary consequences of the threat of infanticide by males for social and reproductive behavior and physiology. Written for graduate students and researchers in animal behavior, behavioral ecology, biological anthropology and social psychology, this book shows that social systems are shaped not only by ecological pressures, but also social pressures such as infanticide risk.

Foreword Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Preface Carel P. van Schaik and Charles Janson
Part I. Introduction: 1. The holy wars against infanticide: which side are you on and why? Volker Sommer
2. Infanticide by male primates: the sexual selection hypothesis revisited Carel P. van Schaik
3. Vulnerability to infanticide by males: patterns among mammals Carel P. van Schaik
Part II. Infanticide by Males: Case Studies: 4. Infanticide in Red Howlers: female group size, male composition and a possible link to folivory Carolyn M. Crockett and Charles H. Janson
5. Infanticide in Hanuman Langurs: social organization, male migration and weaning age Carola Borries and Andreas Koenig
6. Male infanticide and defense of infants in Chacma baboons Ryne A. Palombit, Dorothy L. Cheney, Julia Fischer, Sara Johnson, Drew Rendall, Robert M. Seyfarth and Joan B. Silk
7. Infanticide by males and female choice in wild Thomas's Langurs Romy Steenbeek
8. The evolution of infanticide in rodents: a comparative analysis Daniel T. Blumstein
9. Infanticide by male birds José P. Viega
Part III. Behavioural Consequences of Infanticide by Males: 10. Prevention of infanticide: the perspective of infant primates Adrian Treves
11. Infanticide and the evolution of male-female bonds in animals Ryne A. Palombit
12. The other side of the coin: infanticide and the evolution of affiliative male-infant interactions in Old World primates Andreas Paul, Signe Preuschoft and Carel P. van Schaik
13. Female dispersal and infanticide avoidance in primates Elisabeth H. M. Sterck and Amanda H. Korstjens
14. Reproductive patterns in eutherian mammals: adaptations against infanticide Maria A. van Noordwijk and Carel P. van Schaik
15. Paternity confusion and the ovarian cycles of female primates Carel P. van Schaik, J. Keith Hodges and Charles L. Nunn
16. Social evolution in primates: the relative roles of ecology and intersexual conflict Charles L. Nunn and Carel P. van Schaik
Part IV. Infanticide by Females: 17. Infanticide by female mammals: implications for the evolution of social systems Leslie Digby
18. 'The hate that love generated' - sexually selected neglect of one's own offspring in humans Eckart Voland and Peter Stephan
Part V. Conclusion: 19. The behavioral ecology of infanticide Charles H. Janson and Carel P. van Schaik
References, Index.

Subject Areas: Animal behaviour [PSVP]