The rainforest's most loyal couples: No evidence for extra-pair paternity in coppery titi monkeys
Published Date: 11/23/2020
Source: phys.org
Since methods for genetic paternity analyses were introduced, it has been clear that many pair-living animal species, including humans, do not take partnership fidelity that seriously. In most species, there is some proportion of offspring not sired by their social father. Coppery titi monkeys living in the Amazon lowland rainforest seem to be an exception. Scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ)—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen could not find evidence for extra-pair paternity in their study population in Peru. Mate choice seems to be so successful that a potential genetic advantage does not outweigh the social costs of infidelity. The study is published in Scientific Reports.