STATUS, REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, AND MARRYING POLYGYNOUSLY

A study of female reproductive histories from nineteenth-century Utah shows that although women who married polygynously had fewer children, their number of grandchildren was equal to that of women who married monogamously. Women who chose to marry high-status men polygynously tr aded decreased fertility for enhanced reproductive performance of offs pring. High status can be associated with low fertility and yet still be consistent with fitness optimization. These results suggest how fem ale reproductive decisions influence social structure and challenge pr evious assumptions concerning proximate measures of fitness.