Assortative mate choice in the population of Brac, Croatia

Assortative mate choice in the population of the island of Brae was investi gated using the techniques of potential mate analysis. The analysis is base d on the presumption that mates are chosen from a pool of possible choices. The total sample used for the analysis is comprised of 198 females from ac tual mate pairs. The sample of males is comprised of 545 examinees, out of which 198 represent actual mates, and 347 potential mates. In the analysis, demographic, genealogical and anthropometric data were used for all examin ees. The delineation of factors influencing the male choice process was per formed on the basis of the Dyke strategy (1971), which presupposes successi ve placement of constraints on the maximal mate pool. The analysis has show n chat the first-degree kinship among actual pairs is higher than the one w ithin potential pairs. Following the exclusion of the males who are either more than three years younger or more than fourteen years older than the fe male, the age difference of the sample of the actual pairs is not significa ntly different from the one in the sample of potential mate pairs. After th e exclusion of the mates who were married at the time of potential mate's w edding the average age difference, as well as the different kinship degree between the sample of actual and potential mate pairs were significant. Ave rage anthropometric distances within the sample of actual and potential mat es are not statistically significantly different. Average village endemicit y, as well as, the average geographic distances between the natal villages of mates differs significantly bt tween the samples of actual and potential mates.