The number of males in primate social groups: a comparative test of the socioecological model

As applied to polygynous mammals, the socioecological model assumes that en vironmental risks and resources determine the spatial and temporal distribu tion of females, which then sets male strategies for monopolizing fertile m atings. The effects of female spatial distribution (i.e., female number) an d temporal overlap (female mating synchrony) have been examined in comparat ive studies of primates, but the relative influence of these two factors on male monopolization potential (the number of males) remains unclear. One p articular problem is that female synchrony is more difficult to estimate th an female number. This paper uses multivariate statistical methods and thre e independent estimates of female synchrony to assess the roles of spatial and temporal effects in the context of a phylogenetically corrected dataset . These analyses are based on sensitivity analyses involving a total of fou r phylogenies, with two sets of branch length estimates for each tree, and one nonphylogenetic analysis in which species values are used (because male behavior may represent a facultative response to the distribution of femal es). The results show: (1) that breeding seasonality predicts male number ( statistically significant in six out of nine sensitivity tests); (2) that e xpected female overlap, after controlling for female group size using resid uals, also accounts for the number of males in primate groups (significant in eight out of nine tests), and (3) that actual estimates of female mating synchrony predict male number, again after correcting for female group siz e (significant in five out of nine tests). Nonsignificant results are in th e predicted direction, and female group size is significant in all statisti cal tests. These analyses therefore demonstrate an independent influence of female temporal overlap on male monopolization strategies in mammalian soc ial systems.