Rising male density lowers dominance payoffs and favors pair-bonding

Evidence

In many species, males use force or coercion against other males to secure as many mating opportunities with as many females as they can. A male’s dominance ranking is the primary predictor of his mating success and long-term fitness. However, as the density of males increases in a group, the payoffs from using dominance go down, since males have to fight off more competitors and keep track of more females. When this happens, one strategy males can pursue in light of the increased competition in larger groups is pair-bonding. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 980

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Females pair-bond with males partly for their locally inherited knowledge — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 982; Natural variation among partners drives selection toward greater cooperation. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 619

Broader Connections

• Natural variation among partners drives selection toward greater cooperation. #corroborates (0.78) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 619