SEXUAL CONFLICT AND REMARRIAGE IN PREINDUSTRIAL HUMAN-POPULATIONS - CAUSES AND FITNESS CONSEQUENCES

Sexual conflict is said to occur when one mating partner has an opport unity to increase its fitness at the cost of the other, We analyzed th e effect of remarriage on lifetime reproductive success (LRS) in three preindustrial (1700-1900) socially monogamous Sami populations. In ai l populations, ever-married women's age-specific mortality rates excee ded those of ever-married men during reproductive Sears. After the dea th of a spouse, men had a higher probability of remarriage than did wo men of the same age. Remarried men had a higher LRS than men who marri ed only once, but this was not true for women. The higher LRS of the t wice-married men was probably due to their longer (+5 years; p <.05) r eproductive lifespan (RLS) as compared to once-married men. There was no difference in the RLS of women who married once or twice, These res ults suggest the sexual conflict in these populations was won by men b ecause women paid a higher cost from reproduction (i.e., reduced survi val, and men were able to remarry more often than women, thereby reali zing more of their higher reproductive potential. Consequently, serial monogamy seem to have been an important male reproductive strategy in these historical populations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.